


Alone No More

by Tungsten



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Background Alphyne - Freeform, Background Soriel - Freeform, Background Togore - Freeform, Determination, F/F, F/M, Female Frisk, Friskriel, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Prejudice Against Monsters, SAVED Asriel Dreemurr, School, Some Fluff, Some Humor, Some angst, Souls, surface - Freeform, tags to be added as story goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2018-06-04 10:05:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 91,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6653524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tungsten/pseuds/Tungsten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN - STAY TUNED!</b><br/>The many misadventures of Frisk and Asriel in my post-pacifist AU, including fights, fun at beaches, politics, prejudice, and Papyrus.  Mixed fluff and serious stuff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (3/6/17)  
> Heya~  
> I'm Tungsten, the author... of course, you probably knew that.  
> A few things:  
> 1\. Updates usually monthly, sometimes more often  
> 2\. Some shorter stories are mixed into larger arcs  
> 3\. I usually don't edit or revise so I apologize for bad writing, typos and the like  
> 4\. If you are uncomfortable with discussion of suicide, this is not the story for you  
> 5\. Rated T for mild language throughout, some strong language, and dark themes  
> 6\. You can stop reading after the first like 10 chapters 'cause that's when it starts to get bad :(  
> 7\. (2/20/18) Rewriting the whole thing cause damn, it has problems. Stay tuned!

“Frisk, don’t you have anything better to do?”

She shrugged and sat in the flowers in front of him.  Sighing, Asriel sat down next to her.  They sat in silence a long while, watching the shadows of trees dancing in the wind on the surface, the sunlight slowly but surely turning from yellow to orange to blue.  After a while, Asriel turned to face the human.

“Golly, Frisk… you look terrible.”

She shot him a look that said ‘What is that supposed to mean?’

“No, Frisk, I don't mean _you…_ I mean, I do mean you, but…”

Her expression turned from offended to confused.

“I mean your clothes and everything… you’re all dirty, and your shirt’s a bit torn in a few places, and… are you cut?”

She turned away to hide the rather noticeable gash on her face.

“No, let me see!”

He gently grabbed her chin and turned her toward him.  The cut was down the right side of her head and cheek, rather long and deep, enough that Asriel was surprised she took the blow without needing medical attention.  The blood was dry, but only just.

“Oh, Frisk, did… did I do this?”

She waited a second, then, looking away from him again, nodded a short, quick nod.

“Oh… I’m sorry… I… does it still hurt?”

She shook her head, even though it did.

“Well, that’s good at least.  Wait… just hold still a moment.”

She held her head so that the cut was more exposed to Asriel, and kept as still as she could.  Asriel held his hands a few inches away from the wound, palms exposed.  Frisk could feel a little warmth where there was only pain before, accompanied by a soft green glow from the corner of her eye.  When it disappeared, the pain had subsided a bit.

“Ah, darn it, it’s not much better… I never was very good at healing magic.  I just never had the chance to practice, mom would take care of it whenever anyone got hurt…”

At this point they were both looking at the flowers beneath them.  The children and the flowers were oddly still.

“Asriel… do you wanna see your mom?”

He looked up at her, surprised.  She continued staring at the ground.

“Well… yes, of course I do… but I can’t, and you know it.”

“Of course you can, you’re just not letting yourself.”

“For good reason!  If I re-entered their lives for only a second, it would break their hearts.”

“...”

“And believe me, there’s nothing we can do to fix it.  I’ve tried everything, I’ve gone to everyone in the underground for help.  And… there’s nothing that can be done.”

“Yes there is.”

“I’m sorry, but no there isn’t.  I admire your optimism, but… whatever idea you have, I guarantee I’ve had it in the past.”

“I never said I have an idea.”

“Well…!?”

“You had save and load and reset before I showed up.  Now that I’m here, you don’t, so there’s nothing you could have tried that involves me.”

“Frisk, you’ve already done a lot.  I’ve seen you die many times, some by my own hand, and I can tell you’re at least really tired.  So, please, don’t put yourself through anything else.  Just go home.  Just be with the people who love you.  Please, you’d be doing me a favor.  Knowing everyone’s happy… is all I need.”

“But not everyone will be.”

With that, Frisk stood and left the room.

As she walked away, Asriel opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately decided against it.  In his eyes, it was best that she just leave.  With a sigh, he picked one flower from the ground, and began to count its petals.  One, two, three… there were an awful lot.  At 48, he threw the flower to the ground, making a face, and looked back to the cavern wall.  It was getting dark now, the shadows were darker than before.

This would be fine.  If he turned into a flower right then, it would be fine.  No one was around, so no one was in danger.  It was comfortably cool, and at that moment, he felt oddly resigned to his fate.  Still, though, he remained a goat-like boss monster for a while longer, trying to ignore the feeling deep within him that he was slowly slipping away.  But at least he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone if they're all on the surface.  In fact, maybe….  He had tried before, and failed, but since Frisk usurped his reset ability…

Maybe this time he could leave the world for good.

He made that his tentative plan, to enjoy his last few moments in his true form, before turning into a flower and taking his own life.  No one else would have to be hurt by him ever again.  He wouldn’t have to keep suffering.  Everyone would finally get the peace they deserved, even him.  Maybe he wouldn’t get true happiness, but peace is enough.  Peace is enough.  Peace is…

His train of thoughts was interrupted by footsteps approaching from behind him.  He was filled with panic- no one should see him.  Not even a stranger.  Who would come down this way, anyways?  He stood and turned toward the exit, finding Frisk returning, arms full with spider donuts and spider cider.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Were you expecting someone else?”

“I don’t know what I was expecting.”

With a little smirk, Frisk handed Asriel a donut and they both sat again in the flowers, with the jug of cider between them.  Frisk began eating straight away, but Asriel just looked at his pastry.

“You know… I haven’t had one of these since before I was a flower.”

“Really?  Well, enjoy!”

“I only had one back then because I didn’t know there were spiders in it.  I don’t think I’m a fan of eating them.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, do you want me to get you something else?”

“No, it’s fine.  Thanks.”

“Really, I don’t mind the walk, and I have plenty of cash-”

“Frisk, really, it’s okay.  It was really nice of you to get me anything.”

He took a small bite and smiled at her.  She smiled back, her grin small but her eyes bright.  Asriel looked down to his food and continued eating, taking larger bites now, occasionally sipping from their shared jug.

“A little chilly, isn’t it, Asriel?”

“Not really.  It is summer, after all.”

“Yeah, but it’s almost night!  It can get kind of cold at night, even in summer.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s cold now.”

“Well you have a ton of fur.”

“Yeah… not for long though…”

Both pairs of eyes found their way to the ground.

“Asriel, come say hi to your parents.  You deserve to see them, and they deserve to see you.  How do you think they’ll feel if they find out you came back for a while and never visited?”

“That won’t happen.”

“How do you know I won’t tell?”

“Because it will be as painful for you as it will be for them.”

“...I guess.  But Asriel, there has _got_ to be a way!  There’s always a way!  There’s…”

“Not always, Frisk.  I’m sorry.  Listen, now it really is dark, and everyone’s probably getting all worried about you.  Frankly I’m surprised mom hasn’t called in a panic-”

As if on cue, Frisk’s phone buzzed.

“Sorry, I have to-”

“I know, it’s okay.”

Despite Alphys’s upgrades, it was still a flip phone.  She opened it and brought it to her ear.  Unsurprisingly, Toriel was on the other end of the line, needlessly worried as mothers often are.

“Hello?”

“Frisk!  Are you alright?  You have been off adventuring for some time now, and we are all rather worried about you.”

“I’m fine, mom.”

Frisk heard a few other shouting voices.

“not all of us are too worried, kid, take your time.”

“BUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS!  AND HE IS WAITING AND READY SHOULD HIS TALENTS BE REQUIRED IN A RESCUE MISSION!”

“Shut up, Papyrus!  We’re not going on a rescue mission!”

“SORRY, UNDYNE MA’AM.”

Frisk now shouted into the microphone to assure they could all hear her.

“No, I’m fine, no rescue mission, I just… gimme a couple of minutes, okay?  I’ll be there soon.”

“Alright, my child, that is fine.  Be good, won’t you?”

“Of course.  Bye everyone.”

“Goodbye, Frisk.”

“bye.”

“GOODBYE, HUMAN!  WE SHALL SOON MEET AGAIN!”

“See ya, punk!”

“Uhh, b-bye, Frisk.”

Frisk hung up.

She stood and turned to Asriel.  She extended her hand, and he just looked at it.

“Well?  You coming?”

“No… nothing has changed, I still can’t.”

He did not stand, instead he scooted away from her a little and turned his back.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She lowered her hand.

“Well then, can you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Just… try to stay yourself for a little while longer?  A day or two?”

“I don’t know if I can promise-”

“Just try?”

“...okay.  I’ll try.”

Frisk sighed, and said, with a tone of finality, “Goodbye, Asriel Dreemurr.”

She walked slowly until she was out of the room, then sped into a lazy jog.

Alone now, Asriel spoke quietly to himself.

“Goodbye, Frisk.”

\--

“OH HO!  LOOK WHO’S HERE!  I TOLD YOU SHE WAS SAFE!”

“Papyrus, you were crying not five minutes ago, claiming that she must have died and you failed in protecting her.”

“YOU MUST HAVE MISHEARD ME, YOUR MAJESTY.  I WAS SAYING HOW GREAT I WOULD BE AS HER GUARD!”

As Frisk entered the room, she was quickly enveloped by Toriel’s arms, glad her expression was hidden in Toriel’s robes.  The boss monster quickly looked over her child, searching for new injuries, and finding none, she let go and turned to the rest of the crowd.

“Now that we’re all- Sans, wake up!”

“huh?  wuhzz... oh, heya kid.”

Frisk waved, even though he gave her a funny sort of look.

“Now that we’re all here,” Toriel continued, “I think it is best that we spend the night underground.  As I understand it, it is best not to introduce ourselves to the human race late and in the dark, and it is getting late and dark.”

Alphys added her insight.  “Yes, human history, uh… at least a- as I… as I understand it, it presents monsters as horrible beasts that attack at night, so w- we should wait for day.”

“That is what I intend to do.  Now, I believe there are a number of empty guest rooms in New Home, unless Asgore filled them all with his gardening equipment and plants.”

Asgore opened his mouth to speak, but saw Toriel’s gaze with a single eyebrow raised, and closed it.  With his head down, he slowly strode out of the room, presumably to clear guest rooms of gardening tools.

“...Anyway, there are plenty of rooms for everyone, and we can all stay the night and visit the surface tomorrow.  Is that okay, everyone?”

She was met with a choir of various forms of “Yes.”

“Hey, Alphys, race ya there!”

She was already halfway there before Alphys could react.

“Uhm, Undyne, wait up!”

“A COMPETITION?  I WILL BEST YOU BOTH!”

As Alphys and Papyrus took off after her, Toriel chuckled a little.  Giving Frisk a little pat, she said, “Come along, my child.”  As Toriel left the room, Frisk started for the path to New Home, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

“hold up a sec, kid.”

“Sans?  What’s up?”

“spill.”

“I’m sorry?”

“you’re hiding something.”

“...no I’m not.”

“then why are you upset?”

“Oh, I’m not upset!”  she said, giving him the most genuine smile she could.

“hmm... yeah you are.  you were frowning when you came in and didn’t even look at anyone.”

“You were asleep.”

“was i?”

“It looked like it.”

“well, things aren’t always as they seem.”

“Right, and I might seem upset when I’m not.”

“heh.  well, i guess we’ll find out soon enough, right?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“i dunno.  i’m hungry, d’ya think tori’s makin dinner?”

“I guess so? I don’t know.”

“she better, if pap and undyne make spaghetti again, this whole place is going down.”

“Yeah, it’s happened before with Undyne.”

“really?  i was just joking, but jeez…”

At New Home, they found that everyone had already been assigned their rooms and Toriel was (to Papyrus’s dismay) making a sort of casserole.  Undyne and Alphys were, by their request, sharing a room, as would be Papyrus and Sans.  Asgore, Toriel, and Frisk each had a room to themselves.  When Frisk and Sans, first walked in, Toriel came out of the kitchen to greet them, directing them to their rooms.  For the first time noticing Frisk’s condition, she requested that the child wash up and change her clothes.  Frisk of course did as she was told, and retired to the bathroom.

Frisk loved long, warm showers.  Soap stung her several cuts and it was a little unnerving to watch her own watery blood go down the drain, but she managed to clean up rather well.  These showers were always oddly refreshing.  The white noise of water hitting the shower floor was sometimes even more effective than utter silence at condoning thought.  So, naturally, she thought about Asriel.  The Prince without a soul.  The only one left to save…  If he had a soul, he’d be able to live, right?  But how could she find one?  She knew from Alphys’s logs that soul power could not be artificially created, so she would have to find a natural one.  There was no way she was going to kill anyone and take their soul, and it would have to be one of his parents if she did… what about the human souls?  No, he wouldn’t accept such power, even if she was able to find and contain them.  Not after what he had done with it thus far.  It seemed the only soul that would work would be his own soul, which died with him all those years ago.  Like that would work.  Wait…

Boss monster souls were different than normal monster souls, right?  Normal monster souls seemed to turn to dust with the monster, but boss monster souls didn’t.  Boss monster souls hung around for a minute, then shattered into only a few pieces, like a human soul.  Only a few pieces, not millions of little flecks of dust.  So… maybe those pieces were still around somewhere?  Did Toriel and Asgore keep them?  If they did… maybe she could piece his soul back together somehow.  Great.  Then she’d have his old soul, just dead.  Not exactly a big help.

Human souls were different still.  They stayed together, even after the death of the host.  They stayed alive because they had what Alphys dubbed _determination_ .  But determination didn’t work, it just turned the monsters she experimented on into those amalgamates.  Wait… she had normal monsters to work with, but not a boss monster.  Not a separate soul.  She had to inject the determination into the monster itself, not into the soul, and it was the physical bodies of the monsters that caused the issues.  So… maybe, just maybe, adding determination to the soul of a monster directly would cause it to live after death, maybe even bring one back to life.  Bring his soul back to life, and bring _him_ back.

But that was crazy, right?  She’d need the cooperation of at least the King and Queen and Alphys.  Maybe others.  Not to mention all this theorizing could turn out to be one hundred percent inaccurate.  Still, it was worth a shot.  She had to save him.  In her mind, she simply didn’t have a choice.  But wouldn’t that require telling everyone Asriel was alive?  Well, sort of alive.  Still, it would break their hearts, like he said, because she’d also have to tell them that her plan might not work.  That he might already be a flower again.  Or… she could simply present it as a matter of curiosity.  But that would be weird.  ‘Hey Ma, just wondering, where do you keep the soul of your dead son?’  She couldn’t do that.  But she had to.

Telling them Asriel was alive would give them hope yes, but crush them even more should she fail than they’d be crushed if simply reminded of his death.  So she’d take the safer route.  She’d ask as nicely and gently as she could about his soul, and wouldn’t tell them their son was maybe alive.  That might work.  But what about Alphys?  Nah, that was all sciencey stuff, she could easily pass that off as mere curiosity.  Frisk had told Asriel to stay himself for only a day or so more… she’d have to act fast.  Tonight, even.

She stepped out of the shower and, wrapped in a towel, made her way to her temporary room.  The room with old toys and two child-sized beds.  There were clothes already lain out on a nearby chair.  How thoughtful.  Clearly clothes for a boy, though, one maybe just a little older?  Black pants and a green shirt with several yellow stripes.  Old white fur still clung to its insides.  She hesitated, but did dress in the old clothes.

Everyone was already at the dinner table.  When Frisk appeared, everyone’s expression lit up, save Toriel and Asgore’s, who each showed a brief pang of sadness followed by far milder contentedness.  She sat in the only open chair, between Toriel and Undyne.

“So, Frisk,” Toriel began, “You have not introduced me to any of your new friends.  I think I have gotten to know them a bit by now, but I want to hear what you have to say about them.  Is that okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

She went around the room.  “This is Undyne, she leads the Royal Guard, and she’s totally bada- uh, she’s really tough and awesome.”

“Nice save, Frisk!  I think she was gonna say that I’M A FREAKIN BADASS!!”

Toriel struggled not to stand.  “I have tolerated your language thus far, Undyne, but please do not say such things in front of my child.”

“...sorry.”

“Anyway, Frisk, go on, please.”

“Alright, well, Alphys is the royal scientist, and she really likes anime and stuff, and this is Papyrus, he’s really cool… and he likes spaghetti… and uh, he wants to be in the guard.  That’s his brother, Sans, you know him.  And, uh… you know Asgore, too.”

Asgore looked down at his food and did not look back up for several minutes.

“Well, Frisk, they all seem like wonderful people.  I’m surprised you made so many friends so quickly.”

“yeah, frisk, you’re really on a bit of a casse- _roll_ , when it comes to friend making.”

Toriel giggled a little, and Sans’s smile widened a bit.  He seemed to look at her an awful lot.  Papyrus, on the other hand, simply turned to his brother with a murderous look.

“sorry, pap, gotta do it.  by the way, gorey, got any ketchup?”

“Please do not call me that,” Asgore responded.  His voice was not threatening, rather sad.

“okay, sorry.  just like to push people’s buttons is all.  but, uh… do you?”

Asgore sighed.  “Top shelf, second cabinet from the left.”

“thanks, your highness.  hey bro, do me a solid and get some of that liquid?”

“WHY DON’T YOU GET IT YOURSELF?”

“can’t reach.”

“YOU COULD AT LEAST TRY.”

“can’t get up.”

“WHY NOT?”

“dunno.”

“IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHY YOU CAN’T GET UP THEN- UGH, NEVER MIND.”

Huffing, Papyrus stood and retrieved the ketchup for his older brother.

“YOU KNOW, SANS, YOU SHOULDN’T BE DRINKING THIS STUFF LIKE YOU DO.  IT IS VERY UNHEALTHY.”

“i don’t exactly lead a healthy lifestyle if you haven’t noticed.”

“I HAVE AND IT WORRIES ME.”

“right.  so, uh, undyne, frisk tells me you took down a house with your cooking?”

“Damn right, I did!”

“Ooh, Undyne, can I tell the story?”  Frisk was practically bouncing in her seat.

“Go for it, kid!”

“So Papyrus and I went to her house to hang out- this was right after she was trying to kill me, by the way- and we…”

Dinner was filled with a number of pleasant conversations.  It was all rather standard, though.  Sans and Toriel catching up with each other, Undyne and Alphys discussing random topics, Frisk and Papyrus jumping in whenever they saw fit… only Asgore stayed quiet, still upset about his ex-wife’s refusal to forgive him.  Eventually, though, there was a lull.  They were nearly done eating (Sans was done already, and had fallen asleep).  Frisk jumped at the opportunity.

“Hey, Alphys, would you mind answering a couple of questions I have about souls and stuff?  I’m a little curious after… well, all that.”

“Sure, I guess, I can tell you what I know.”

“Alright, great!  Just, uh… so that determination stuff that turned monsters into amalgamations.  Did you ever inject it directly into a soul?”

Alphys started to sweat.  “Well, n-no, I never had the ch-chance to, because I never had a soul  without a host.”

“Alright, well, if you did, would it work?  Would it keep the soul alive, I mean.”

“Well, uh, theoretically it could, but it’s n-never been tested-”

“What about a dead soul?  Could it, uh, glue it back together?”

“I’d say that’s very unlikely, and it would likely require high concentrations of determination… b-but, yeah, it’s possible, I guess.”

_Well that’s reassuring._

“Thanks, Alphys.”

“No, uh, no problem.”

Alphys didn’t touch her food again for a long while, but found her stomach again after beginning another conversation with Undyne.  There was still more Frisk needed to ask, though, and she waited to avoid arousing suspicion.  After what seemed to her like forever, everyone was done eating, now just talking, and soon she’d have to go to bed.  It was now or never.  She really did not want to do this.

“Uh… Toriel, Asgore… there’s something I wanna ask you guys.  It’s… not something happy, but I need to ask it.”

“Yes, my child, what is it?”  
“What’s wrong, Frisk?”

“Your son… Asriel…”

The entire table fell silent.  All wore masks of shock and confusion, except for the skeletons, for one was asleep and the other was simply clueless.

“Yes, Frisk… what about him?”  Asgore’s voice was deep and almost threatening.

“When he died…”

She stopped upon seeing the pain the King and Queen were going through.  Asgore remained silent for the remainder of the conversation.

“I’m sorry, Frisk, please go on.”  Her voice was filled with despair and worry, as all the memories of his death and the death of his sibling began to rush back.

“Okay… when he died, his soul… what happened to it?”

“Well… like every monster’s, his soul shattered when he died.”

“But a little after, right?  Like most boss monsters?  And just into a few pieces?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, this is the hard part… did you keep the pieces?”

“...”

“Please, Mom.  I need to know.”

“Why are you asking these questions, my child?”

“There’s, uh, something I need to do.”

“What?”

“I can’t really tell you about it.”

“...all right.  If you must know, yes, we did keep his soul fragments, but I have no idea-”

“Where?”

Tension could be felt from a mile away.  Toriel looked as though she was about to explode, though whether in anger or tears, Frisk wasn’t sure.  Her eyes flickered from Frisk, away for a moment, then back to the human.  The orange light of the lamp seemed to get a lot dimmer all of a sudden.  Everyone wore the same surprised looks as before, though Asgore now had his head down.

“Frisk, please go to bed.”

“Please, mom, I just want to-”

“Go to bed!”

Downtrodden, Frisk slowly stood and wordlessly walked down the hall into her room.  No one at the table made a noise.  The hum of the house’s electronics was all that could be heard.  She entered the room, nearly slammed the door, and plopped herself down in the nearest bed.  For whatever reason, she felt she should avoid the comfy looking bed at the far side of the room.  Without even finding her way under the blankets, she buried her face in the pillow and urged herself to fall asleep.

She was half asleep, so she wasn’t certain, but she swore she heard someone in the room.  There was a clank as if someone put something hard and heavy on wood, then there was only silence again.  The door never opened or closed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk goes on a mission to reconstruct Asriel's soul, but is met with a few teeny tiny issues.

Toriel thought she was the first one awake.  8:00 AM, and the house was oddly silent.  There was no rush to get to the surface, at least while most monsters were still preparing to leave.  A surprising number didn’t want to.  That was fine, not everyone had to go.  Most families had no one old enough to remember the surface anyways.

She walked through the house, passing closed door after closed door, muffled snores coming from a few.  She smiled to herself.  All these wonderful new friends… and a child.  Her child.  For the first time in years.  She stopped in front of Frisk’s door.  No noise, whatsoever.  Toriel entered the room, simply wanting to see her… but was greeted with an empty bed.

“Oh no… EVERYONE!  EVERYONE WAKE UP!”

A very bleary-eyed Undyne soon appeared in the doorway.

“What is going on here?”

“Frisk is gone!”

“Frisk is- seriously?”

Undyne pushed Toriel aside and looked at the bed.  She tore up the sheets.  They looked flat in the first place, but she'd check anyway.  Surely enough, there was no one there.  Glancing around the room, she noticed something on a shelf.  She grabbed it in a hurry.  A note.

_Hey everyone,_

_I can’t really explain it but there's something I need to do.  I don't know how long I'll be gone, but you don't need to worry.  I have plenty of food and money if I need more.  I’m perfectly safe, and I’m not getting into trouble!  If you want to head up to the surface now, you don’t need to wait.  Just don’t start a war!  But seriously don’t start a war.  Love you guys, see you all soon._

_-Frisk_

Undyne read the note aloud, before asking, “Do you know where she might be?”

“I am sorry, Undyne, but I do not know.  I… wish I did.”

She couldn’t help but worry, of course, though the knowledge that Frisk left on her own accord was comforting enough.  She decided to make some breakfast to calm her head while Undyne woke the others.  There would soon be interrogations.  Rummaging through the kitchen, she grew frustrated with Asgore’s relative lack of ingredients.  Did the man ever cook himself?  When they were married, he always offered, but hardly ended up actually cooking- and when he did, the result was… interesting.  On occasion he’d make something edible.  Asgore was always disappointed in himself, but Toriel always giggled.  She found herself giggling thinking back to those times, when they were a happy couple.  When they first got married… when they had a kid.

But that was all behind her.  There was no way she was going to forgive him.  Not after killing so many defenseless, innocent humans.  Not after he almost killed Frisk, and _would have_ , had Toriel not intervened herself.

At least he had a few basic ingredients.  Eggs, milk, flour, sugar….  She decided to make pancakes.  Surely there wasn’t a person in the house who didn’t like pancakes.  She found herself a large pan, a mixing bowl, everything she needed.  Having the batter mixed, she summoned a small flame and held the pan over it.  Dollops of batter turned into breakfast, one by one, some with chocolate chips, most plain.  She was extremely efficient in the kitchen, and was done in less than an hour.

“Breakfast is ready!  Come eat, everyone!”

Undyne was there first, having been the only one woken earlier by Toriel’s shouting.  In came Alphys, only half awake, Papyrus, with a teddy bear, and Asgore, already fully dressed, but still slow and groggy.  They sat around the table again and began eating.  With each little bite, Asgore smiled.

“This is wonderful, Tori... er, Toriel,” he said.

“I hope it is.”

“It’s been so long since I’ve had your pancakes…”

She shot him a quick look.

“Yes, it has been some time.  I hope you enjoy it,” she said.

“Really?  You do?”

She sighed.  “I guess so.”

With that, Asgore smiled a little and ate more quickly.  He even didn’t realize he was eating slowly until then.

Papyrus looked around then turned to Toriel with a questioning face.

“MISS TORIEL?  WHERE’S THE HUMAN?”

“That’s actually something I need to talk to everyone about… when I woke up, I checked Frisk’s room, and she was not there.  She left a short note saying there was something that she had to do, and that we need not worry.  Does anyone know what her task is?  Where she might be?”

Heads shook all around the table.

“well, if you wanna know what she’s doing, why not just call her?” Sans said as he walked in the room.  He was wearing the same clothes as the day before.  He didn’t seem tired like he just woke up, nor did he seem at all rested. Rather than sitting down to his waiting pancakes, he leaned against the wall.

“Oh, hello, Sans,” Toriel said, “and I honestly cannot believe we haven’t done that yet.  Give me one moment, please.”

She grabbed her flip phone from a nearby countertop and dialed a number.  She listened intently.  After a moment, there was a ringing from down the hall.  Undyne went to investigate.

The noises seemed to be coming from somewhere in Frisk’s room.  After a couple of seconds of searching, she found Frisk’s phone, lost in a drawer of clothes.  She groaned.

“HEY!  FRISK LEFT HER PHONE HERE!”  she shouted down the hall.

Undyne rejoined the group at breakfast and dropped the phone onto the table.  Sans shrugged.

“ah, well.  she obviously doesn’t wanna be bothered.”

Asgore froze for a second, then looked at his ex-wife.

“Toriel… you don’t think… this has anything to do with what we were talking about last night… does it?”

She sighed and shut her eyes.  “I hope not.”

Alphys sat there, now unable to eat, playing with her fork.  Her mind raced, making connections that made her uneasy.  She dismissed her worries as paranoia, and made her way through the rest of her food.

\--

Frisk was sitting in the bed of flowers once again, where she first fell.  Before she did anything extreme, she wanted to make sure Asriel was still himself.  But he wasn’t there.  She only found utter silence, save the occasional hopping of a froggit.  Asriel wasn’t there, but neither was Flowey.  Perhaps he had turned back and gone somewhere hoping he wouldn’t be found.  Unsure, Frisk began to look around.

That room was empty, she was sure, so she began to walk back through the ruins, solving puzzles memorized by now, looking behind every little nook and cranny hoping to find the little yellow flower.  Or, better yet, a little white monster child.  She refrained from asking around, surely someone in the Ruins would be able to recognize her descriptions as being of the Prince.  Most everyone was still asleep anyway, as it was so early in the morning.

She had a few cinnamon bunnies with her.  A bit stale, but still tasty, and as nourishing as sugary desserts get.  As she went through them, she made sure to leave one.  She could always buy more spider goods if she had to.

She’d looked through nearly the entire Ruins and was beginning to lose hope.  He wouldn't leave the Ruins if he wasn't a flower, as he wouldn’t want anyone to recognize him.  Word would surely make it around the kingdom that the supposedly dead son of Toriel and Asgore was walking about… but Flowey wouldn’t get a second glance from those who didn’t know him.  But, there were a few places still unchecked, so she kept looking.

She finally reached Home.  She didn’t walk through the house before, only passed from the hallway leading to the rest of the Underground straight out the front door.  She figured his nostalgia would keep him away.  He wouldn’t want to see this place again when he was still capable of crying.  The whole house was silent, and butterscotch and cinnamon still hung faintly in the air.  She looked in the kitchen.  No Asriel, but a second slice of the pie Toriel made her was gone.

She raced from the kitchen to the bedrooms, and burst into the kid’s room.  If it were possible to slam a door open, she would.  Sure enough, lying in bed, there was a child, his furry white head barely visible over the sheets, facing away.  Fast asleep.  There was a plate of crumbs on the floor nearby.  She took it back to the kitchen, washed it, then left it once more in Asriel’s room, and on it, her last cinnamon bunny.

There was no telling how long he’d stay this way.  She didn’t have any time to spare.  She made her way out of the Ruins, at a fast walk, her destination Alphys’s lab.  She needed determination, and that’s where she’d find it.  The Riverperson was inactive, perhaps because of the hour, so she’d have to make the long walk across nearly the entire underground once again.  This time around, though, she knew all the puzzles, had no reason to stop at vendors and similar, and could just power on through.  So she did.

\--

“Sans, I am aware she said there’s no reason to worry, but you must understand, I cannot help but worry anyway!  I am a mother, and I need to know that my child is safe, for sure.”

“i’m just saying, she doesn’t want to be bothered, i’m not saying i don’t want her safe.”

“I know, but what if she gets into trouble?”

“come on, tori.  it’s been like two days since she’s been down here, and already the barrier’s gone.  she’s survived countless attacks without ever hitting back, including attacks from some at this table, and she’s shown so many people that humans aren’t all bad.  she may be a kid, but i think she can handle herself.”

“No matter.  I let her go off not knowing whether she’d survive before, and I am not about to do it again.”

At this point, Toriel was the one standing.  All of them had finished eating, except for Sans, who had just started.  The others were all listening intently, in varying states of worry for Frisk.  Sans seemed the only one utterly content with her sudden departure, though Undyne wasn’t very concerned either.  Alphys sat looking at her empty plate clicking her claws together, until she found the courage to speak.

“Um, y-you know… I have cameras all over the place.  We can, uh… use them to watch her if… if you want.  We just need to go to my lab, it’s not far.”

Toriel eyed her intently.

“That sounds wonderful, Alphys.  Thank you.  Let’s go.”

She was already walking out of the room, the others standing to follow her.  Sans had only taken a couple of bites from his food, and remained seated.  He called out to the others, who were now in the next room.

“or we can, you know, respect her privacy?”

He was ignored, and the others all left the house.  There was still lots of food on his plate, and he was rather hungry.  He kept eating, figuring he could use a shortcut to get there if he had to.

_respect her privacy… right.  guess i’m just a hypocrite.  still, i dunno what she’s doing either.  maybe… maybe i should fix that.  nah, i really will leave her alone for once.  kid deserves it._

\--

By the time Frisk got to the lab, she wanted to collapse.  It was quite a distance to run, though exactly why she ran she wasn’t quite sure.  Maybe she was just excited.  Unfortunately, there was no chair at Alphys’s desk, so she just sat on the floor for a while.  There was no dirt or grime, the entire laboratory was immaculate.  At least the top levels.  She knew it was dark and dirty where she was headed next.

She had with her a sort of urn that contained Asriel’s soul fragments.  It had seemed to just appear in her room overnight.  Hopefully no one would notice it went missing… wherever it came from.  It sat on the ground next to her.

For the first time, she was beginning to have doubts.  What if this didn’t work?  What if she was getting her hopes up for nothing?  She’d fail Asriel, meaning she’d fail at saving absolutely everyone… everyone who deserved freedom.  Him most of all.  Still, even if it did fail, she couldn’t really _hurt_ anyone, could she?

Her thoughts were interrupted by shouting.  Was that… Papyrus?  She scrambled to grab the urn and jumped to her feet, sprinting into the elevator that led to the true lab.  Several red buttons were illuminated within, she pressed the only familiar one, and descended into the labyrinth beneath.  Just as the elevator started to move, she could begin to make out what the voices were saying.  Sounded like Papyrus and Undyne.

“I’M JUST SAYING THERE IS NO WAY THE HUMANS WILL NOT ENJOY MY PUZZLES!  FOR EXAMPLE, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF HUMANS I HAVE MET… HAVE!”

“Come on, Papyrus, the only human you’ve ever met is Frisk.”

“AND SHE LOVES PUZZLES!”

“That doesn’t mean all humans will!”

“NO, BUT I LIKE THE ODDS!”

The six monsters (now including Sans) entered the lab, led by Alphys.

“My monitor’s over here, if you all want to see.  I just… need a moment to- re, uh, reconfigure it to sweep through the cameras all over the Underground by-”

“Hey Alphys!  Don’t worry about it, okay?”  Undyne said, giving the scientist a quick hug.  “Take your time!”

Asgore looked around.  “Golly, this place has changed since I was last here.  This computer, is this new?”  He began fiddling with it as if he’d never seen a computer before, holding the mouse in the air in attempts to operate it.

“Asgore!  Do not touch her things without permission!” Toriel scolded.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Toriel.  And I’m sorry, Alphys.”

Alphys spoke slowly without taking her eyes off of the monitor’s settings.  “That’s… fine… Asgore… I really… don’t care… almost, aaaand… done!  Everyone gather ‘round!”

Alphys stepped back to make room, and the party crowded the massive screen.  It showed a sort of slideshow, going through nearly every room in the Underground.  First Snowdin, then Waterfall…

“It should, uh s-stop when the facial recognition software detects Frisk.  If it does.  I’m sorry, but, it’s s-still kind of, uh, buggy, so… keep your eyes peeled!”

After several minutes, Alphys snuck away to her refrigerator as the others glued their eyes to the screen, searching for the human child.  It took her a minute, but she eventually found what she sought in the fridge- her favorite soda.  Making a mental note to clean out the mess within, she closed the fridge and walked to the far end of the room, also making a mental note to fix the massive hole in the wall.  She needed a moment to think.  What if she was right before?  What if Frisk…

She noticed a flashing light coming from a panel next to the elevator.  The light that indicated the elevator’s activity.  Her eyes and mouth went wide and she almost spilled her beverage all over the floor.  She glanced over to the monitor.  Everyone was still staring at it, except for Sans, who looked back at her with a questioning look.  She nodded.  They both walked up to the elevator.

“She's got to be down there,” Alphys whispered.

“well, alph, i can't say i disagree.”

“What could she be doing?  Last night she was asking me about the determination experiments-”

“was she? really?  what specifically?”

“She asked if we ever injected the DT into souls directly, and, uhm, and-”

“and what?”

“If it could revive a dead soul.  Glue it back together, in her words.”

Sans’s eyes went wide.  “alphys.  we need to get down there.  now.”

“What's wrong?”

“i... may have made a big mistake.”

\--

The lab gave Frisk chills last time she was there, and this time was no different.  Dark and dingy, with an air of danger, even though there was likely none.  The amalgamations had all left the day prior.  Still, Frisk jumped at each little noise, dagger raised, though she knew she would never use it, even if forced.

Despite it all, the thought of saving Asriel filled her with determination.

Determination.  That's what she was looking for.  Liquid determination.  Alphys did a lot with it, didn't she?  There had to be a stockpile somewhere.  Drawers and drawers, odd containers of who knows what, and beakers filled with multicolored liquids.  Nothing labeled determination.

She looked through the more familiar rooms first, finding beds, rows of flowers, examination tables… and the machine.  The massive determination extraction machine that took up nearly a whole room, with pipes leading into the ceiling and what could best be described as pincers reaching near to the floor.  She searched this room specifically for determination- but found none.

Eventually, she came across a short hallway she had never seen before.  It was slightly less dusty than the rest of the lab.  Several large blueprints rolled up like posters lay in a bin in an inlet in the wall.  She pulled a few of them out.  Most of the handwriting was illegible, but she could make out most of the titles.   _Determination Extraction Machine, Soul Transfer Apparatus, Magic Amplifier…_ strange things among more mundane blueprints for juicers and Undyne’s “hot fridge.”  There were two distinct handwritings on most of them, neither neat, but one neater than the other.  The slightly easier to read writing was often accompanied by little sketches, primarily of Papyrus.  She noted the location of these blueprints and moved on.

In the very next room she nearly stepped on a large, empty, covered beaker on the floor.  There were a number of syringes next to it.  The syringes were unlabeled, but the beaker was.  She picked it up and read it.

_Pure DT- Stock Solution_

So this was it.  This was the determination.  An empty beaker.  It took everything she had not to smash it on the ground that very moment.  She had to keep looking… there had to be more.  There just had to be.  This was on the floor, right?  There had to be a more organized collection somewhere…

She searched and searched and searched, finding more containers of determination.  They were all different, having different concentrations, or having different things mixed in… the only thing consistent among them was emptiness.  The entire lab was bereft of determination.

She wouldn't give up.  She couldn't.  She couldn't just let Asriel fall into a fate worse than death.  She had to find a way to get determination somehow.  Maybe she could make it?  There were no blueprints for that sort of thing, Alphys was likely never able to do that.  There was no way for her to find any of the human souls loose in the Underground, if they even stayed in the Underground rather than floating up to the surface.  But… she _did_ know where one human soul was...

She started trembling.  What was she thinking?  She surely couldn't… could she?  Fear clouded her mind, and she froze in place.  This was something she was certain never had been done before, not with someone alive.  Something might happen, and she might….  But she had to try.

Clutching the urn, she made her way back to the room with the blueprints.  She rooted through the bin, searching for one blueprint specifically.  Luckily, it was near the top, and was found rather quickly.  Still shaking a little, she began toward the proper room.

The massive machine was suddenly even more intimidating than it seemed before.  And, upon closer inspection, more complicated.  If it weren't for the diagrams on the blueprints, she would have gotten nowhere, because she could still hardly make out every other written word.  Eventually, she was able to figure some of it out.  There was a control panel on a wall.  So many dials and switches… she didn't know what they all did, but she could understand the important ones.  Her hand hovered over the big red button in its center.  Only then did she see just how severe her trembling was.  She shut her eyes, gritted her teeth, and pushed the button down.

A great low noise began to emanate from the beastly contraption.  Dim lights began to glow, slowly getting brighter as the noise raised in pitch.  The dust floating through the air was made far more obvious.  More dust fell from the ceiling, as the machine began to shake ever so slightly, agitating parts of the building likely utterly still for many, many years.

She found a dial controlling speed of the procedure.  She took it and turned it all the way down.  She wanted this to work, but she didn't want to hurt herself.  Even though she was more than willing to do so if it was necessary.

Consulting the blueprints once again, she approached the massive pincers.  It looked as though the soul was to be held between them.  The urn was on the floor beside her.  Slowly, she put her hand to her chest and pulled it away, drawing her soul with it.  Its red glow was the brightest in the room.  She held it with both hands.  This was it.  This was it.  This was…

All of a sudden, the soul took on a blue color.  “Huh?” she said to herself, confused.  Then, she and her soul were thrown backwards against the wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with it if you're back from Ch. 1. Or thanks for reading if you're new. Or just... whatever. Meh. I'm tired. (why do i always write in the wee hours of the morning)  
> I've heard nothing but good in the comments, and it's been really encouraging. Thanks, guys. Comments and kudos help a lot.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk was about to extract the determination from her soul in order to revive Asriel's soul, but then, of course, Sans happened.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?”

“Um, Sans, I’m no expert in discipline here, but… w- was pinning her to the wall really necessary?”

“Alphys, if I waited a second longer...we don’t know what could have happened.”

He looked back at her with a menacing glare.  The whites in his eyes were gone, leaving the unnerving voids that always gave Alphys chills.  She had only seen Sans like this a few times before.  She never liked it.

“Sans… you might have hurt her.”

He closed his eyes.  When they reopened, the little white lights had returned.

“right.  sorry.”

He lowered his left arm, releasing Frisk, and turned to her to see her fall to the ground.

“you okay kid?”

Frisk had drawn her soul back into her chest, and was now hyperventilating.

“You… wha… what are you doing here?”

“we could ask the same, bud.  calm down, calm down…”

He approached her and helped her to her feet.  It took a moment, but she was able to catch her breath.  Sans put his hand on her shoulder.

“you good?”

“Yeah… I'm good.”

“so… now you gonna spill?”

“Fine, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, especially Toriel or Asgore.”

“easy enough.”

“You too, Alphys.”

Alphys nodded quickly.  Sans put his hands in his pockets and started pacing.

“kid, everyone's upstairs, we don't got all day.  pretty soon, they'll come looking for alph and i, and, uh… you know.”

“Alright.  Sorry.  Well… oh, how do I begin?  You know Asgore and Toriel’s son, Asriel?  He died a long time ago?”

Both listening nodded.

“Well… he's alive.”

Alphys went wide-eyed, and started stuttering unintelligibly.  Sans only looked mildly surprised.  Alphys walked forward, now able to form a few words, her hands out in front of her.

“Buh- bu- but h- how?  He was- he did- he was-”

“You also might know him as Flowey.”

Sans grimaced, and Alphys froze, obviously even more confused.

“Th- that flower… the one I… really?”

“Yeah, the flower you gave determination.  It had Asriel’s dust on it, so you kinda accidentally reincarnated him as a flower without a soul.”

“I… I… oh my god…”

“you know, alphys… i never approved of your whole flower experiment.”

“Yes, I know, Sans, I'm sorry… b- but, you know how I get sometimes.”

“and frisk, i’ll be direct… our reports show that the flower… has done awful things.  really awful things.  and you want to give it soul power?  not happening.”

“But he’s Asriel!  I swear-”

“i believe you when you say he’s the prince and all, but he still did messed up stuff.”

“But that wasn't him!  He couldn't feel _anything!_  Who wouldn't be driven mad by that!?  When he was alive the first time, he did nothing but good!  He probably prevented _another_ war!  He… he deserves to be happy… more than a lot of others do… he has suffered for years and years and deserves to be happy…”

Frisk was on the verge of crying at this point, surprising both monsters in the room.

“jeez, kid, you feel really strongly about this, don't you?”

“Yeah, I really do.”

A long silence.

“so you plan on extracting your own determination to piece his soul back together?”

Frisk nodded.

“alright.  and that's supposed to turn him into an actual monster again?”

“Well, he is an actual monster.  Right now.  When everything went white for you all, he absorbed all the souls in the underground and broke the barrier.  He was able to turn himself back, but only for a while.  I just want to keep him that way.”

Sans closed his eyes for a while, deep in thought.  The kid was gonna kill herself trying to save someone really not worth saving, at least in his eyes.  It was in Frisk’s nature to forgive.  After all, most of her friends she met because they were trying to murder her.  That’s part of what made her so special.  But also why she was likely wrong.

“lemme put it to ya straight, alright?  what you’re trying to do here probably won’t work.  it’s probably gonna kill you, even.  and, since the machine is designed to extract determination, it will _really_ kill you, once and for all.  ya get it?”

Frisk nodded, but Alphys simply got more confused.

“Um… Sans?  What do you mean… r- _really_ kill her?”

He turned to face her, putting on his best poker face (which was quite good).  “uh, don’t worry bout it alph.  skeleton business.”  He turned back to the child.  “and you… i’m not gonna let you die trying to save some weed, got it?”

“You’re not going to stop me, Sans.  I have to do this.”

“why?”

This was the question Frisk had been dreading.  Why was she doing this?  Because she _had_ to, right?  But why did she have to?  She was in no danger, in fact she’d lose absolutely nothing by _not_ saving Asriel.  The only danger came in her attempts to do so.  But why?

“...honestly Sans, I don’t know.  But there’s something within me that just won’t let him stay.  He’s really nice, and just good, alright?  Nice and sweet and…”

By now Frisk was blushing a little, avoiding the gaze of her friends.  Upon seeing this, Sans’s expression changed a bit, still unreadable.  Alphys had distracted herself deactivating the machine, but Sans was still very much engaged.

“and?”  His tone was a little friendlier now than it was earlier.

“And he’s my friend!  And I don’t want to lose him.  So please, let me do this.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to live myself knowing I wasn’t able to save him.”

Sans closed his eyes, and a long moment passed in silence, except for the occasional clicks of Alphys toying with her machines.  She had taken to fixing the numerous tiny breaks that occurred after years of inactivity.  Frisk was hopeful but scared.  The air was heavy and hot.  Even if he said no, she’d have to find a way.  Her worry was that she might not be able to, because _he_ said no.  Not just anyone.   _Him_.

“alright.”

Frisk was surprised.  “What?”

“you can do it.  alphys here will look into it some more, _right, alph?”_

Alphys was actually startled.  “What?  Oh, um, yeah.”

“thanks.  i just don’t feel like doing it myself.  anyway, frisk, she’ll look into it, and if it’s not guaranteed to kill you, you can do it.”

“Really, Sans?  Thank-”

“on one condition.”

“...what is it?”

“i get to meet him before we do anything.  make sure he’s cool, and not… you know… all murderey.”

“He’s not, uh, what did you call it?  Murderey?  He’s not murderey!”

“heh.  well, i guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

Frisk sighed.  “Alright… but we need to do it soon.  If we wait too long, he’s gonna turn back into a flower for good.”

“okay, how about right now?”

“What?  Sure, I guess.  He’s in the Ruins, behind that big door Toriel came from.”

“then let’s go.  c’mere, i know a shortcut.”

Alphys perked her ears up.  She missed their plan, too wrapped up in what she was doing.

“H-hey guys, wait-”

She turned around.  They were already gone.  Grumbling to herself (“I hate it when he does that”), she dropped her tools and headed for the elevator.  There was still a large party above who had surely by then noticed that two of its members had disappeared.

\--

“Come on!  Where the hell is she?”

“Undyne, are you ever going to stop swearing?”

“Sorry, Toriel.  Old habit.”

They had all gone wall-eyed from staring at the screen for so long.  Asgore had to stop and rub his eyes, stepping away from the monitor momentarily.  It was then that he noticed his scientist was nowhere to be seen.

“Alphys?  Alphys?  Are you here?”  He returned to the group.  “Um,  I’m sorry to bother you all, but… anyone seen Alphys?”

They all stepped away from the monitor and looked around.

“Huh,” Undyne said, “Where could she be?  Hold on, I’ll check upstairs.”

As she walked off, the tall skeleton took on an air of worry.

“SANS IS MISSING TOO.  OH NO, WHAT IF THEY WERE KIDNAPPED?”

Toriel placed a hand on his shoulder.  “Worry not, Papyrus.  I am sure your brother is safe.”

Undyne returned, panting.  “She’s not… huh… up there… huh, huh… either… whoo….”

Asgore gave her a look.  “Why are you so tired?”

“I ran.”

“It’s only one floor.”

“Yeah, but I also checked the roof.”

“I don’t think there’s a staircase.”

“Exactly.”

“Oh.”

At that moment, the elevator door opened, and out came Alphys.  The moment she stepped into the room, all heads turned to face her, and she started to sweat.

“Hi, everyone… heh, heh…”

Undyne gave her a big smile.  “Alphys. Where were you?”  She picked up the yellow monster and held her at eye level.

“Oh, I, w-was, uh, I was uh, just g- going t- to the, bathroom?”

“...okay then?  You don’t have to be so nervous, ‘specially around me!”

Papyrus started jumping up and down.  “OH, OH, EVERYONE, LOOK, THE CAMERA’S FOUND HER!”

The monitor had stopped on the camera in the bushes just outside the Ruins.  It had highlighted Frisk’s face in a little box, as predicted.  She looked nervous, her stride a little off as she walked through the door, closely followed by Sans.

“WAIT… SANS IS WITH HER?  WHAT IS HE… HOW IS HE?”

At this point they had all crowded the monitor once more.  Toriel put her hand to her forehead.

“But that is impossible, he was here just moments ago!”

“MY BROTHER OFTEN JUST… APPEARS PLACES.  IT CAN BE INCREDIBLY IRRITATING.”

Alphys stepped in and decided to steer them away from asking too many questions.

“Just, um… c- can we all agree that Frisk is alright?  Since Sans is with her?”

Toriel sighed and bowed her head.  “Yes… yes I suppose.”

“WAIT… SOMETHING’S FISHY.”

“Is it me?” Undyne said.

“YES!  GLAD THAT’S CLEARED UP.  WAIT A MOMENT… SOMETHING’S SUSPICIOUS!”

Alphys was sweating even more, her glasses threatening to fall off.  She waved her arms in front of her as she spoke.

“No, no, I'm, uh, s- sure everything's fine, w- we can all just go back to New Home now, and Frisk w- will come back soon.”

“VERY WELL.  BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE UP TO.  ONE MOMENT, PLEASE.”

He pulled his smartphone from a compartment in his chestpiece.  He dialed quickly and held the phone to his face.

\--

“so where is this kid?”

“Last I saw him, he was at Toriel’s house.  I'll be willing to bet he's still there, unless he’s turned back by now.  Come on, it's just down this long hallway.”

The phone in Sans’s left pocket started to ring.  He ignored it.  Frisk looked up at him, and asked, “Aren't you at least gonna see who it is?”

“10 g says it's pap.”

“You're on.”

He pulled the device out of his left jacket pocket, and sure enough, Papyrus’s face was illuminated on screen.  Grumbling, Frisk reached into her pocket and pulled out ten small gold coins, depositing them in Sans’s open palm.  He let out a deep chuckle.

“i’m not gonna answer it, i'll just tell him the battery's dead.  it’s not a lie, it was never alive in the first place.”

Soon they made it to Toriel’s home, called Home.  They stood at the top of the staircase, whispering.

“Okay, just… wait here a sec, could you?”

“sure.  you know i love doing nothing.”

Frisk approached the bedroom door slowly.  It was wide open.  She gave it a little knock as she appeared in the doorway.

“Hey... Asriel?”

The monster child lay on his stomach in his bed facing the door.  He looked up from the book he was reading.  His face fell as soon as they made eye contact.

“Hey, Frisk.  Have you… come to say goodbye?”

“No, no, and I don't ever intend to.”

“Frisk, come on-”

“No, you come on.  We’ve had this discussion before.  I don't have the solution yet, but I'm working on it.  I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“Never mind that… for now, there's someone who wants to see you.”

Asriel’s expression went from bad to worse.  There was absolutely no one but Frisk he’d want to see him.  Especially not…

“Frisk, you… you didn't tell-”

“No, I didn't.  But in order for me to do what I need to do, someone needs to talk to you.  Is that okay?”

“Who?”

Sans appeared, leaning in the doorway beside Frisk, giving Asriel a friendly look.

“hiya, princey.”

Upon seeing him, Asriel jumped back, suddenly very, very afraid.

“Wha- what are you doing here?”

“heh.  relax, kid.”

Sans walked further into the room, giving Frisk a dark stare as he passed her.  Asriel’s reaction to his presence was proof enough that he shouldn’t be brought back.

“but, asriel… we are gonna have a little talk.  is that okay?”

Asriel didn’t answer at first, he only sat against the wall, wide eyed, attention utterly devoted to the approaching skeleton.  Frisk moved to get within his line of sight, and gave him a nod and an encouraging smile.  He'd have to put aside his fear, only for a moment.  Still against the wall, Asriel opened his mouth, and found he was unable to speak.  Instead, he nodded.

“alright, good.  frisk, can you give us some privacy please?”

“ _Why?_ ”

“i won't lay a bone on him, i promise.”

Asriel extended his hand.  “No, Frisk, please don't go.”

“Sorry, Asriel, if we don't do this his way, he won't let me do what I need to do.  You'll be fine, you can trust him… I hope.”

At that, she left the room and closed the door.  Maybe she'd find an old book of Toriel’s in the meantime.  Hoping she had more than books on jokes and snails, Frisk searched the shelf in the living room.  She found one book that looked like it had been soaked in water then dried.  A book from the human world.  The title was smudged and worn, and half the cover was torn off, but she gave it a shot anyway.

\--

“UNDYNE, I’M BORED.  WHEN IS THE HUMAN COMING BACK?”

“How am I supposed to know?  Alphys and I are going to grab a bite to eat, if you wanna come though.”

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”

“Uhh, I dunno.  Hey Alph, where d’ya wanna go for lunch?”

“Uh, well, if h- he’s coming, I don't know, if, I, uh, w- want to…”

“Oh… alright.  Sorry, Pap.”

“THAT’S OKAY.  IF YOU WANT TO GO ON A FIRST DATE ALONE, I WILL BE AN AMAZING FRIEND BY STAYING AWAY!”

Both Alphys and Undyne blushed.  They hadn't officially called it a date, but Undyne hoped it was.  She invited Papyrus almost as a way to test whether Alphys felt the same, and luckily, she did.

“YOU TWO HAVE FUN!  AND JUST GO TO NEW HOME WHEN YOU’RE DONE, WE’RE SURE TO BE THERE BY THEN.”

“Thanks, Pap!”  Undyne was red in the face, her stomach turning, but she kept going, eyes forward as she left the lab, Alphys close behind.

“So, Alphys… where do you wanna go?”

“Oh, um, I don’t know… I brought Frisk to the garbage dump when I th- thought she asked me on a date, but there’s no food there…”

“SO THAT WAS A DATE!  She wasn’t the one who wrote that letter, you know.  I did.”

“Th- that was you?  Wow… you have… quite a way with words.”

“W- well, thanks.”  They were both blushing and hiding their faces at this point.  Hand in hand, they strolled lazily through Hotland.  They decided earlier that if they couldn’t think of any place better, they’d head to the restaurant at MTT Resort, which was still operating for passerbys headed to the surface who needed a meal, of which there were many.  Rather than taking elevators to get there quickly, they took a long route through hotland on foot, Alphys having disabled all the puzzles earlier.  The relative peace and quiet and privacy was something they both enjoyed, even if Undyne was constantly complaining about the heat.  After a while, their hunger got the better of them, and they took the next elevator straight to the resort.

They sat down at a table in a corner and looked through the meal options, all Mettaton themed of course.  There was a band playing ragtime music on the stage, a sort neither of them cared much for.  It wasn’t hated, though, and it was quiet enough that they could simply talk over it.  Undyne ordered a steak (in the shape of Mettaton’s face), and Alphys ordered chicken cordon bleu (which ended up, to her dismay, very much pink and sparkly).  As they waited for their food, Undyne lay her elbows on the table, taking a deep breath.

“Man, I hope Frisk is okay.  She’s pretty tough, but I… just have a funny feeling.  I know Sans is watching her and all, but come on, I’ve known the guy for twenty four hours and I’m pretty sure he’s been asleep for twenty three.”

“Well, Undyne, he, uh… at least h- he’s an adult, right?”

“Pfft, I’m really not sure he counts.”

“Yeah, ha ha, you’re right.”  
  
“Alphys, are you okay?” Undyne said in a gentle voice, taking Alphys’s hands.

“N- no, everything’s fine, heh heh, absolutely everything is perfect, Undyne, there is no need to worry about Frisk needlessly endangering herself, that’s for sure!”  Undyne could feel her partner’s hands trembling as she spoke.

“...okay then.  I told you before I don’t want you to have to lie anymore, and I meant it.  So you can tell me if something’s up.”

“...SO FRISK MIGHT DIE SOON-”

“WHAT?  SERIOUSLY?”

Undyne pulled her hands away, nearly jumping back as she did so, and Alphys looked at the floor to her right, putting her hands to her face.

“Well, not for sure, but-”

“Alphys, you better tell me what the hell’s going on, or I am walking out of this restaurant.”

“No, d-don’t… I mean, unless you don’t want to…”

“I want to do this with you, but you just told me Frisk’s life is in danger!  I’m not just gonna sit here and let the shit hit the fan!”

“I… I promised I wouldn’t… I promised…”

Undyne sighed.  “Alright.  I’m sorry I put you in this situation… but I’m going to the Ruins.  See you later.”

Alphys made no movement as Undyne gathered her things and left.  Even her trembling had stopped.  She had her eyes shut, still facing the ground.  The waiter arrived with the food for both of them.

“Here you are… where’s your guest?”

Alphys said nothing.

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“Just shut up and go away, please.”

“I’m sorry… do you want me to leave the food, or-”

“Just… have it yourself.  I don’t care.”

Alphys left a sum of gold on the table.  She didn’t know how much; she simply grabbed a handful and left it there.  She stormed out of the building, fumbling through her purse for her phone.

\--

“...Sans… you’re really not gonna hurt me?”

“heh heh heh”

Asriel was slammed against the wall, squealing.  Sans walked slowly toward him, his eyes dark and his smile wide.

“i never said that, kid.  i don’t need a bone to hurt you.  tell me, was it fun?  killing everyone the way you did?  everyone but me, that is, if i remember correctly.”

Two entities resembling dragon skulls rose from nowhere on either side of Sans, mouths open and glowing, pointed right at Asriel.”

“Sans, I… I’m sorry, alright?  I swear I didn’t mean any of it, I just couldn’t feel!  I just couldn’t feel… I just couldn’t… understand how horrible I was acting, and...”

He broke down weeping, unable to wipe the tears from his eyes.  Sans was completely still, his expression unchanging, watching the child have his moment.  The blasters bobbed up and down, making no indication they were about to fire.  Or retract, for that matter.  It was a solid minute before Asriel gathered himself, blinking hard.

“Sans, I… if you want to kill me… I won’t put up a fight.  I probably deserve it.”

“well, kid, i won’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind.  but…”

The blasters disappeared, and the lights returned to Sans’s eyes.  Asriel was still trapped.

“you know how frisk is.  she’d have my head if i killed you.  and frankly, she got closer to killing me than you ever did…”

Asriel was still pinned against the wall, feeling very uneasy for every reason imaginable.

“whoops... not a happy subject.  yeah, there was a time when she was bad too.  but you know what happened?  she gained my trust.  she gained my trust with lots of time and lots of good… and the realization that she was possessed by a murder baby, but you know.  it took a long time across many timelines but i grew to trust her more than almost anyone else.  and now, i love her, really, almost like she’s my own kid, but uh… don’t tell her i said that, kay?”

Asriel nodded, Sans sighed.

“do you know what i’m try’na say, buddy?”

“No?”

“i’m saying i’m giving you a chance.  i might not think you should be, uh ‘saved,’ but she does, and that’s enough.  i dunno if you know, but… she's sacrificing an awful lot for you.  that's if all this bull works at all.  i mean, that determination-”

“Wait, determination?  What exactly is she planning?”

“huh.  guess she hasn't told you.  just know that she really wants you alive, and that you should be forever grateful.”

“I already am.”

“at this point, i don't doubt it.  so you're clear for now, but…”

Sans’s eyes went dark again, and he got within an inch of Asriel’s face, leaning on the bed a little.

“I'll be watching every second of every day.  There will be no place and no time I will not be able to see you.  Until you too gain my trust, I will judge your every action down to the twitch of a pinkie.  If you step one foot out of line for even a second… you’re gonna have a bad time.  Understand?”

Asriel nodded furiously.

“good,” Sans said, releasing the child from his magic.  Asriel sat in bed, still trembling and largely unable to speak.  Sans found a chair and sat down, crossing one leg over the other.  “so… now onto the important stuff.  do you know what happened to the guy who got his left arm and left leg cut off?”

“No, what?”

“he’s _all right_.”

Asriel giggled a bit, despite the situation.  “Hey Sans…”

“yeah?”

“Never mind.  I was gonna tell a chemistry joke, but I wouldn't get a reaction.”

“heh, good one.”

“I never spent much time in school, because all this happened, but I do remember when my math teacher called me average.  How mean.”  By now Asriel had a devious grin.

“well, you certainly are your mother's son.”  The phone in his right pocket buzzed.  “oop, hold up a sec…”

He pulled it out, reading a text, and his face fell.

“shit…  hey frisk,” he yelled through the door, “we need to get out of here.  alphys texted me and, uh… apparently undyne’s comin to see what we’re doing?  i think it’s best she not know; if she finds out there’s no way she’s gonna keep it from asgore.  that okay with you?”

“Yep,” she shouted back, “Are we just gonna go straight to the lab?”

“i guess so.  we don’t need to delay any longer.  i’ll text alphys and tell her to meet us there.”

Asriel picked up his book and opened it again, but Sans took it from him.

“nope, you’re coming with us this time.  you kind of need to be there.”

“But… what if I’m seen?”

“don’t worry ‘bout it, kid.  i know a shortcut.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for the support. You guys rock.
> 
> Don't worry, smol gote will be saved soon. Just, uh... you know... gettin' there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk isn't allowed to risk her life with that DT extraction machine.  
> Frisk doesn't care.

“I don't like this place… it feels… funny.”

“i've spent i don’t know how many years hanging around in places like this, and i can tell ya, that feeling doesn't go away.”

Walking down the hallways of the laboratory made Asriel uncomfortable.  Even as Flowey he never went more than a few rooms deep.  It was simply too filled with bad memories of so many people, and carried with it an air of vulnerability.  It was impossible to feel safe.

Asriel and Frisk walked in front, side by side, Frisk staring straight forward while Asriel looked around nervously.  Sans had his usual unreadable face, his hands in his pockets, strolling lazily behind, occasionally forcing the children to stop and wait for him with his reduced speed.

“i dunno why you guys are going so fast, we aren’t doing anything ‘till alphys is here.”

Frisk stopped and turned around.  “Why not?  I think I can work that thing, it seems simple enough.”

“If you recall, alphys said she’d look into the safety of this whole thing.  so nothing’s gonna happen ‘till she gives us the okay.  i still… really think you shouldn’t do this, though.  for the record.”

“I know.  But he deserves life more than I do.”

“i dunno bout that, kid.”

Asriel entered the conversation.  “What do you mean, I deserve life more than you?  What did I ever do?”

“Nothing!  You never did anything wrong!  Which is exactly why you deserve to-”

“I KILLED EVERYONE.  And you say I never did anything wrong?!  I… Frisk, I appreciate your support, but are you insane?”

“No you didn’t.  Flowey did.  Asriel… you’ve been really nice and… and humble, really, since I’ve known you… and before you died, you could have started another war.  You sacrificed yourself to avoid it.  That’s why you deserve to live.  Flowey… isn’t you!  Flowey isn’t nice or humble, he’s an ass!”

“whoop, watch it kid, wouldn’t want tori to put soap in your mouth.”

“Sorry, Sans… anyway, you… deserve to go on… and me… I’m worthless… so just… don’t argue, don’t fight, this is going to happen.  You keep telling me to let myself be happy… why can’t you do the same?”

Asriel had his mouth slightly open, eyelids drooping just a bit.  He could feel the beginnings of tears in his eyes, but none fully formed.  It took him several attempts to actually speak.  “Frisk… what exactly are you planning on doing?  First of all, you're not worthless, and second, is this… this isn’t gonna… this isn’t gonna kill you is it?”

Frisk didn’t answer, she only looked at the ground.

“Oh no… no, Frisk, this isn’t happening.  I won’t let you kill yourself for me.”

“...like Sans said before… we’re still waiting to hear whether it’s safe.  But I don’t care if it is.”

“But I do.”

“And you don’t have a say in it.”

Sans had taken to leaning against a wall, half asleep already, but he managed to say a few things.  “actually, i think he does.  if he wants to be a weed, let him be a weed.”

“He doesn’t want to do that, Sans, not if he can live a normal life, right Asriel?”

“I… er… you’re right, but… it doesn’t matter what I want.  I’ve seen my friends die enough, Frisk.  If there is even a one percent chance that whatever this is will harm you…  I don’t want to go through with it.  I’ll refuse to participate.”

“You won’t be able to stop me.”

“I will tackle you to the ground if I have to.”

“Without Sans impaling you?”

“i think i can figure out he’s not tryna kill you, frisk.  i have eyesockets, you know.”

Frisk was getting mad.  “Well… whatever!  Why won’t you just accept that this is something I have to do?  Why do we need to keep having the same stupid discussion over and over?  It doesn’t get anywhere!  Both of you need to accept that I am going to do this, or I am going to die trying.”

Even the hum of lights and machines seemed to disappear.  One would struggle to cut the silence with a knife.  Tears really were streaming down Asriel’s face at this point, though he wasn’t sure exactly why.  Sans had left the wall, and now stood right in front of Frisk, looking at anything but her eyes, obviously uncomfortable.

“hey, frisk, uh… i hate to ask this, but… you don’t _want_ this to kill you, do you?”

Before she could answer, Alphys appeared from behind a nearby corner.

“Hi, everyone!  So I- oh…”  Her eyes fell on Asriel.  “Um, h- hello, Your Majesty, um, I a- am Dr. Alphys, I'm, uh, Asgore’s- er, your dad’s Royal Scientist.  You… you do look a lot like your parents.”

Unsure of what to do, she extended a clawed hand for Asriel to shake.  He hesitantly took it, discovering that Alphys’s grip was loose and her palms were sweaty.  Frisk giggled a little at her unnecessary formality and her extra nervous behavior.  Sans picked up on this, and commented, “you know, she was worse when she first met asgore.  but that was just cause she had a huge crush on him.”

Asriel raised an eyebrow, still looking at Alphys, who was laughing and looking away, rubbing the back of her neck.  Frisk nodded furiously in attempts to confirm the statement to Asriel.

“so alph, whad’ya find out?”

“What?”

“about the procedure?  is it safe, or what?”

“Oh… dammit… I… might have… f- forgotten to do that and… gone on a date with Undyne instead?  Eh he he… I'm sorry.”

Sans sighed.  “alright.  sorry, frisk… asriel… guess it's not happening.”

Asriel looked at the ground, nodding, already starting for the exit.  Frisk grabbed the back of his collar.

“No, Asriel, I said we’d find a way to do this, and I meant it.  Alphys, can you just look into it now?”

“Uh, sure, I guess, but didn't you say he was gonna turn b- back into a flower soon?  Do we… have time?”

Though she asked Frisk, everyone turned to Asriel for the answer, who still had his head down and had distanced himself from the rest of the group.  He sighed.  His speech was a little hard to hear, as he mumbled and didn't look up.  “Probably not.  To be honest, it's been hard not to slip away for a while now, and… well, don't worry about it.  I'll be okay.”

He began to walk away again, and this time, Sans and Alphys followed.  Frisk refused to move, watching as they got farther, farther, farther… until they turned a corner.  Her hands balled into fists.  Normally, she’d be the good girl and do as she's told.  Normally, she’d just submit to the will of anyone else and take the hit if it hurt her.  Not this time.  She turned around and, quietly as possible, sprinted toward the machine.

\--

Undyne stood before the great purple door, having seen it a few times before and having been endlessly curious as to what lay on the other side.  She now knew that here was where Toriel lived alone for years, and where all the fallen humans came from.  It was a large, heavy door, difficult for most to push.  She managed with one finger.

Toriel’s home was uncomfortably similar to Asgore’s.  Nearly everything was identical, down to the placement of each individual chair.  Undyne couldn't help but look around.  A half-eaten pie sat on the counter.  Asgore always spoke favorably of Toriel’s desserts, especially the fabled butterscotch cinnamon pie.  A large part of her wanted to take a bite, but it looked like it had been out exposed to the air for a couple of days.  She didn't want her first taste of such a pie to be stale and disappointing.

Progressing to the bedrooms, she peaked into the very first one.  There was only one bed, that of a child… they must have lived here before the first human fell.  So this is where little Asriel used to sleep….  Undyne experienced a number of conflicting emotions.  She saw this as almost a way to get to know Asgore’s son.  One can tell a lot about someone just looking at their room...

A book lie on his bed.  A reader, like his mom.  Thankfully it wasn't filled to the brim with terrible puns.  Stuffed animals, toys, all pretty typical.  The wall next to the door had a desk with a wheeled chair, but no computer.  Instead, there was only a piece of paper with a pen on top.  She picked it up.  As she read it, her mouth fell open, her eyes grew wide.  She dropped it to the floor, and stood in shock, her hand covering her gaping mouth.  Her phone.  Where was her phone?  Alphys knew something… now, she had some explaining to do.  To be sure she wasn't going insane, Undyne read the paper again before making any phone calls.

_Dear Frisk,_

_Thank you for all your help.  If it weren't for you, monsters would still be stuck underground.  Now they're free.  No matter what happens, you'll have that accomplishment to look back on._

_But if you're reading this, and I'm not around, that means I turned back into a flower.  I know you tried to find a way to save me, and I’m thankful for that, but it's too late._

_Just know that you didn't fail.  You couldn't save me, but it wasn't your fault.  There was nothing anyone could do in the first place._

_Don't worry about me.  I don't think I'll be around to hurt anyone anymore.  Ever.  I'm just glad everyone else is happy._

_I know I said it already, but thank you.  Thank you for being my friend and showing me what it's like to feel again, even though it was only for a while.  For the rest of my life I'll be thankful, and I'll never forget it._

_-Asriel_

Nope, she wasn't going crazy.

\--

“so princey, what's it like to be older than your parents?”

“I'm not.”

“you’ve been around longer.”

“No… well, sorta… I don't know.”

“you know they got divorced, right?”

“Yeah… I know.  It was a long time ago.”

“yeah it was… do, uh, do you think your mum would be… how do i put this?  open to… seeing anyone?”

“...what are you trying to say, Sans?”

“i dunno, i'm just asking a question.”

“Maybe it's not the best time to ask it, then.”

“heh... you're right.  sorry.  what about you, frisk?  you're getting to be that age, right?  any boys you can't stop thinking about?  or girls, for that matter?”

“Uh, Sans,” Alphys interjected, “I don't think it’s appropriate to, uh, question a twelve year old about her sexual preference…”

“why not?”

“Because!  It’s, uh, just, Sans!  Stop!”

“okay, sheesh.  but frisk, you have been awfully quiet.  still bummed we’re being responsible adults and not letting a kid march into death to resurrect an evil flower?  uh, frisk?  you there?”

For the first time in a while, he turned around.  Frisk was nowhere to be seen.  At that moment, the entire lab began to shake, the noise of the determination extractor echoing down the halls from several rooms away.  Sans looked at Alphys, then at Asriel, then down the empty corridor.  Then, simultaneously, they all sprinted down the hall, deeper into the lab.  Alphys had a hard time keeping up, as Asriel was a spry young man and Sans was significantly faster than such a heavyset fellow should reasonably be.

The halls were somehow more winding and confusing in their panic than they were before.  At several points, Sans or Asriel took a wrong turn, and had to wait for Alphys to catch up and show them the correct path.  Asriel, not even knowing the destination and just following his ears, was the cause of this far more often.

Eventually, though, they made it to the room with that machine.  Asriel was first, skidding to a stop as it came into view.  His mouth fell open, and he just stared.  Almost immediately, tears started to form and fall, making small puddles on the floor.  Seeing this, Sans slowed down and stopped before he could even see the room.  He didn't need to.  After a moment, Alphys caught up, and did the same.  Slowly they approached the child, and stood on either side of him, now taking in the same image as he.

The machine was still shaking, still making noise.  Alphys noticed that the determination output nozzle, which normally led to a special beaker, now led to a sort of urn.  That, however, was not what made Asriel cry, of course.  Below the massive pincers lay the limp body of a young girl, sprawled out on the floor face down.

After a little while, Sans gave Asriel a quick pat on the back before starting for the body.

“we’re assuming the worst… come on.”

Hesitantly, Alphys and Asriel complied.  Sans pushed Frisk over so that she lie on her back, and began observing her.  She had at the very least fallen flat on her face, as evidenced by the bruise on her forehead.  Her chest did not obviously rise or fall significantly, and she did not stir when agitated.

“uh, alphys?  i'm not the human expert here… she, uh… she dead?”

“Sans, I… I don't know, I o- only w- worked with souls, never their physical bodies…”

Asriel was still crying, now cupping one of Frisk’s hands between his.  He only spoke in his mind.   _Frisk… please don't be dead… please don't be dead…_

It was funny.  He'd killed her multiple times, and not until now had it ever bothered him.  In his mind, he did kill her.  She died for him.  He killed her.  Seeing her lifeless tore him apart inside... being a souless flower didn't seem so bad all of a sudden.

Sans felt bad seeing Asriel like this.  This kid… was really, really upset.  Of course, Sans was himself as well, but after years and years of suppressing his emotions intentionally, it had begun to happen automatically, and his grief did not show in the slightest.  But he did begin to see Asriel for who he truly was, rather than who he used to be.  His face made it obvious; this truly, deeply upset him, perhaps even more so than one would expect.  The tears were real.  This monster was not Flowey.

Alphys wandered off, looking for information on human physiology.  Her attention, however, was drawn by the urn.  The urn which theoretically now contained Frisk’s determination.  An odd glow shone from its opening, tempting her to peak inside.  When she did, her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes not leaving the urn’s contents for several seconds.

“Uhm… Your Majesty… I, uh, I th- think you better… uh… come look at this.”

She stepped aside, allowing Asriel to take her place.  His reaction was the same, but after a moment, he emptied the urn into his hands.  He stared at the object hovering before his eyes, giving off a faint white light, with perhaps the slightest tint of red.  Once he could see it, Sans stared too.

“well i'll be damned… she did it.”

Asriel was shocked.  It was a soul.   _His_ soul.  He could feel it.  It was his soul and it was in his hands right then.  Frisk had sacrificed herself to ressurect his soul, and it worked.  Half of him didn't believe it.  But it was real.  At long last, he could live again.  At long last, he could be himself.  At long last, he could see his parents… all thanks to Frisk.  But… could he?  Could he live a life earned by the death of another?  The death of a friend?  He continued to stare at his soul, a conflicted look on his face.

At that moment, Alphys’s phone rang loudly, making all three jump.  She turned to Sans.

“It’s Undyne… should I…?”

“if you didn’t, it’d seem suspicious.  besides, eventually she’s gonna find out anyway, right?”

Nervously, Alphys accepted the call and put it on speaker.

“He- hello?”

“ALPHYS WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!  YOU BETTER HAVE A DAMN GOOD ANSWER OR I AM GOING TO MARCH THIS NOTE RIGHT UP TO ASGORE!!”

“N-note?  What note?”

“THIS NOTE SOMEONE LEFT FOR FRISK… it… doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s signed _Asriel_ .   _ASRIEL!_ ”

“Undyne… p- please… calm down…”

“I’M GONNA CALM DOWN AS SOON AS YOU EXPLAIN WHY YOU SAID FRISK IS GONNA DIE, AND WHY DEAD KIDS ARE LEAVING HER NOTES!!”

“SHUT UP AND LISTEN, WON’T YOU?!?!... I… I’m sorry… but I need to tell you… Frisk…”

“...oh my god… really?”

“Yeah… but that’s not all.  It’s… hard to explain.  Just c-come to the lab- the  _real_ lab- and see for yourself.  Frisk’s… here too… if you want to…”

“Alright.  I’m on my way.  And Alphys?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.  I’m sorry too.”

They hung up simultaneously.  Immediately, both adults in the lab looked to Asriel.

“what note?”

“Oh, I, uh, left a note for Frisk, in case she came by and I had already turned back.”

“and you put your name on it?”

“Yeah…”

“smart.  and by that, i mean it wasn't smart at all.  what if this hadn't worked?”

“It didn't.  Frisk is dead.”

“you know what i mean.  you have your soul back, so it doesn't much matter who finds out you're not dead since you can actually be alive now.  but you know… if you weren't, we’d have an uncomfortable situation.”

Asriel’s eyes fell back to the soul still in his hands.  It was oddly comforting just to look at.  Speaking to no one in particular, he said, “I don't know if I can-”

“uh, you better take it, kid.  it’s what she would have wanted.  listen, i know it's a cliche, but… you don't want frisk to have died in vein, right?”

Sans was right.  He had to.  He had to take it and live the best life he could.  Sighing, he drew his soul into his chest, where it belonged.  For the first time in many, many years across many, many timelines, he felt whole.  He truly felt himself.  He felt good… save for the grief that was sure to plague him his whole life.  They all took a moment to allow themselves to feel happy this one instance.  At least they got a sort of happy ending, right?  But then, a voice came from behind them.

“Died?  You wish, bonehead.”

Everyone whipped around, and saw Frisk, propped up on one arm and smiling, her face pale but her eyes bright.  Immediately, Asriel did tackle her, as promised, except in a hug.  Her shoulder soon became wet with his tears, and Frisk wrapped her arms around him, patting his back several times.  He did not let go.  Alphys approached but did not interfere, she looked as though she could cry herself.  Sans didn't move from where he was standing, indeed if his face said anything, it said ‘knew it’.  When Asriel finally calmed down and stood up, allowing Frisk to sit up, Sans walked forward and extended a bony hand.

“glad you’re okay, buddy.”

She took it and he pulled her up.  Asriel’s loud, frequent sniffling quickly caught everyone's attention, earning a short giggle from Frisk.

“Gee, you really are a crybaby, aren't you?”

“Yeah… I really am… Frisk, I am so glad you're alive.”

“Ha, I'm glad you're alive too.”

“Thank you… I don't deserve this…”

“Don't talk like that.”

“Sorry… but how can I ever repay you?”

“I dunno, be yourself and make your parents happy?”

They smiled at each other, Alphys smiling at the sight of them, Sans smiling because that's just what he does.  Their heads all turned when they heard something metallic and heavy hit the lab floor.  In the doorway stood Undyne, shocked and very, very confused, looking from Frisk to Asriel to Alphys then back to Frisk.  A spear lay on the ground at her feet.

“I can explain!” the four said to Undyne in unison.

Frisk stepped forward, one finger raised.  “Um, I think I should-”

“Frisk!  I thought you were… dead!”

“Yeah… they did too… uhm,” she put her hand on Asriel’s back and guided him next to her.  “You might not believe me, but this is Asriel.  Er, Dreemurr.  Asgore and Toriel’s son.”

“But isn't he supposed to be dead?”

“Not anymore.  That's what all this commotion has been about, actually.  When everyone thought I died, I had just passed out or something after extracting my own determination-”

“Extracting WHAT?  What exactly did you do?”

“Err- never mind.  We brought Asriel back but I had to give up a part of my soul to do it, and it almost killed me.  Now… he’s alive again.”

“That doesn't explain it, and it sounds like it should have killed you.”

“just go with it for now,” Sans remarked, “it's a long story.”

“Wow… so this is really him?”

“Yeah.  Really him.”

Undyne looked the Prince up and down, who was very intentionally remaining silent.

“He does kinda look like Asgore.  And not just because he's a boss monster, but the way you look like your mum and dad when you're a kid, you know?”

“Yeah, that's what Alphys said, and he looks like Asgore’s kid ‘cause he is!”

“But what’s the deal with that note?  It said something about turning into a flower…”

Asriel and Frisk looked at each other.  Asriel spoke for her.  “I think that’s something we can explain later.”

Undyne shook her head, and extended her hand.

“We still haven't been introduced- I'm Undyne, the leader of the Royal Guard.”

Asriel took it, and shook.  Unlike Alphys’s handshake, weak and timid, Undyne’s was painful, and their hands flew violently up and down.  When they let go, Asriel, rubbing his now sore right hand, said, “Uhh… hi.”

“Does your dad know about all this?”

“No, no one was supposed to know, not even me until it had already been done.  This was all Frisk’s thing, I guess.  I'm not sure how you all got wrapped up into it.”

“Wait, so your parents don't know you're alive?”

“Not yet.”

“Well when the hell were you planning on telling them?”

“I've only been really, truly alive for a couple of minutes at this point, and just kind of alive for only a couple of days.”

“Then a couple of days ago would have been a good time!”

“Not exactly… look, can we go over this later?  I don't exactly like talking about that stuff.”

“Oh.  Sorry.  Well, let's go!  It's kind of unbelievable, but let's go tell Asgore his son’s alive.”

“woah woah woah…” Sans stepped forward now as well, offering a voice of reason.  “before we go anywhere, we should make sure frisk and princey here are okay.  i’m pretty sure asriel’s fine, but frisk, you don’t really look yourself.”

Frisk gave him a puzzled look.  “What do you mean?”

“you’re all pale, and your movements are kinda… slow.”

“I feel a little weird, but nothing I think we should be concerned about.  I might just be getting sick, it might not be related to this at all.”

“are you sure?”

“Yeah.  Come on, I want to go home.”

Undyne picked Frisk up with one arm, opening the other for everyone else.  “Come on!  I’ll carry all you guys, and we’ll get there in no time!”

Frisk grinned.  “Yeah, come on, guys!  It’ll be fun!”

Asriel sheepishly approached Undyne, who quickly scooped him up and transferred him to the same arm as Frisk.  There were various mutterings of “ow” as the children were smooshed together.  The other arm open again, Alphys crawled up, blushing but looking Undyne in the eye with a smile.  Once the three of them were held, she made a beckoning motion with her hand.

“Come on, Sans!  This ride’s for everyone!”

“uhh, thanks, but i know a shortcut.  see you guys there.”  He turned a corner.  Undyne followed not a second later, unwilling to give up so easily, but Sans was nowhere to be found.

“Wait… Sans!  Where’d you go?”

“Just roll with it,” Frisk said, speaking quietly because her mouth was hardly an inch away from Undyne’s ear.

“ALRIGHT!  LET’S GO!!”

And they were off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> I'm, uh... I'm sorry. It's been a while since I've updated, I know. The first three chapters came out two days apart, and here we are, nearly a week later, and now this one comes out. And it's not even a long one. Long story short, I'm writing this on Google Docs and my internet has been shotty the past few days, in addition I've had to return to school (I was on break last week). Oh well. I'll [try to] be better in the future.
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys liked it. There are a few spots that are kinda iffy, I know, but....
> 
> Also, it's 7:32 PM. I think this is the first chapter I've uploaded earlier than midnight. Yay.  
> Thanks for reading, you rock.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somewhat tragic reunion

“RAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

Everyone held on for dear life as Undyne stomped through the underground at astonishing speed, especially considering her cargo.  Asriel and Frisk were out of breath giggling while Alphys nearly dug her claws into Undyne’s flesh in terror.  She trusted Undyne fully, but it was hardly soothing.  It was literally the fastest she’d ever travelled in her life.  Just outside MTT resort, Undyne’s phone began to ring a shrill, piercing ring, and she immediately dropped everyone.  The children tumbled to the ground, a little hurt but still giggling, while Alphys just plopped on her belly, also hurt but relieved she was stopped.  She straightened her glasses as she stood.  Undyne, phone in hand, seemed to just realize she dropped three people, and apologized quickly before taking the call.

“Hello?”

“GREETINGS, UNDYNE, IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

“Oh is it, really?”

“...IS IT?”

“Ha, whaddya want, Papyrus?”

“I AM SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOUR DATE, BUT I THOUGHT YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW THAT SANS IS HERE!  AND HE SAYS THAT THE HUMAN IS SAFE!”

“Date, what- oh, right.  Well, that kinda fell apart.  But yeah, Frisk is with me, so I know she's okay.  We’re on our way back now.”

“EXCELLENT!  I MEAN, HORRIBLE!  I MEAN… WELL, IT’S HORRIBLE THAT YOUR DATE FELL APART, AND I OFFER YOU MY SUPPORT, BUT IT IS QUITE EXCELLENT THAT YOU AND THE HUMAN WILL RETURN!  WAIT… IF YOUR DATE FAILED, THEN WHERE IS ALPHYS?”

“She’s with me too.”

“THEN WAS THE DATE A SUCCESS?”

“No, I just said it fell apart!”

“I AM GETTING A NUMBER OF MIXED SIGNALS FROM YOU.  BUT WORRY NOT!  I WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM AND REPORT BACK TO YOU BEFORE YOU CAN SAY-”

He hung up before the end of the sentence.  Sighing, Undyne pocketed her phone and turned to the now standing group before her.

“Well, that was Papyrus.  Apparently Sans is already there… somehow… and they all know you’re safe, Frisk.”

“Do they know about me?” Asriel asked.

“No, I don't think so, Papyrus probably would have said something.  Come on, we’re wasting time!”

Undyne held her arms out as invitation for everyone to climb back on. Frisk had her hand on her forehead, largely covering her slightly pained expression.  “Can we just walk the rest of the way?” she requested, “It's not far.”

“Seconded,” Alphys said with a hand in the air.

Undyne folded her arms and scoffed.  “Fine, if you guys want to pussy out-”

“Undyne!  Don't say that, at least not in front of the kids.”  Apparently Alphys was standing in for Toriel as moderator of language and behavior.

As they walked through the resort and the core, Alphys and Undyne made polite conversation about concepts for new inventions Undyne had.  Most of them were totally unrealistic (“What if you made a spear that shot smaller spears out the front as it flew toward the enemy?”) but some were feasible, and actually intrigued Alphys.  Frisk was oddly silent, causing Asriel distress.  He looked over at her.  She smiled at him as soon as she noticed, but before that, Asriel saw her unedited face for a split second.  That was all he needed to know that she was hurt.  She was still pale, perhaps even paler, and now her stride was a little uneven and she walked hunched over ever so slightly.

“Frisk?  Are you sure you’re okay?  You really don't look good…”

“Asriel, I'm fine.  Just a headache.”

“No, it's not… Frisk, I really don't want you to be sick.”

“It’s fine!  It'll pass!”

“You know what happened last time a human I cared about got sick…”

“This isn't anything like that.  Besides, what's the worst that could happen?”

“You could die.”

“Yeah, that's not new.  I've been on the edge of death since before I fell here.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“...nothing, just don't worry.  I'll be alright, okay?”

“...okay.  But promise me if it gets really bad you'll ask someone for help, okay?”

“Okay.  I will.  Thanks.”

\--

“Tori…”

Asgore and Toriel were in the kitchen, alone.  The house was oddly quiet, despite the usually noisy skeletons being present a few rooms away.  Toriel was leaning against a counter, and Asgore stood a short distance away, a nervous look on his face.

“I asked you not to call me that.”

“I know.  Tori, I… golly, I still don't know how to talk to you without making a mistake.  But… Toriel, I know I've done horrible things.  But you must understand, I had little choice.  I didn't want to kill those children any more than you.  I did not want to destroy humanity.  I didn't go through the barrier with one soul because I was afraid that’s what I would have to do.  But now, the barrier’s gone, and I have an idea.”

“What is your point?”

“I’m getting there.  I have… er… a proposal, and I want to ask your permission.”

“I'm listening.”

“If monsters start coming up all at once, humans will panic and attack.  Understandably.  But, if a select few of us go up first, it won't be as bad.  Especially since we have a human with us.”

“Isn't that what we were going to do from the start?”

“Well, yes but… I would like to officially ask Frisk to be an ambassador for us.  This way, we know she’ll continue to stay with us and aid in our efforts to live with humans again.”

“Are you saying she wouldn't otherwise?”

“Of course she would, but giving her the title would make others take her more seriously, especially since she’s a child.”

“I do not know if we should put such stress on her.  You said it, she is a child, and she needs to spend her time in education, not in politics.”

“Very well.  I will not request that she do this for us.”

“It is still her decision, Asgore.  I may be against it, but Sans was right earlier.  She is very capable for her age, and certainly capable of making this decision for herself.”

“No, no, I cannot ask her now.  I need your permission to go along with it.  You've taken her in as your own, right?  So you decide what's best for your daughter.”

Toriel turned around, supporting herself with her hands on the counter, looking down into it.  It was so clean she could almost see her reflection.

“She's… not my daughter.”

“What?  But I thought-”

“I did think of her as my own.  I still do.  But I should not.  She probably has parents up on the surface, and probably wants to return to them.  It would be wrong to keep her with me.  It was a mistake growing as attached as I already have…”

Toriel stared at the counter with a stern expression, as if it had done something horribly wrong and deserved a good scolding.  In reality, she felt she deserved the scolding herself.

“Tori… I'm sorry.”

“...it is fine… just leave me be.  And do ask Frisk if she would like to be the ambassador.  I want to know I can at least see her occasionally.”

“Okay, I will.”

“But… Gorey…”

She called him Gorey!  He tried to suppress a smile, and made a very poor job of it.

“Yes, Tori?”

“If she accepts… promise you will assure she does not get into too much trouble, won't you?”

“Of course.”

Ashore briskly left the room.  On his return to his bedroom, he passed Sans, awake for once, sitting in Toriel’s old chair.  Surely he had heard the whole conversation.  Sans had his head down, leaning forward on his knees, oddly still and silent.  His face was hardly visible, but Asgore thought he saw empty eye sockets and… tears?

“Uhh… Sans?  Are you alright?”

Sans looked up, and his expression was immediately normalized.  There was no evidence of tears.

“yeah, i'm good… ‘gorey’.”

At that, he stood and proceeded down the stairs.  Asgore dismissed this odd behavior simply as a quirk of Sans he simply hadn't learned yet.

Sans sat at the bottom step, his face in his hands.  He allowed himself to grow attached to someone, and it was a mistake.  Now he had to live with it.

\--

“WE’RE BACK, EVERYONE!”

Undyne carried Alphys into the home, slowly, at Alphys’s request.  Frisk and Asriel were waiting outside.  Upon hearing Undyne’s booming voice, Papyrus greeted them at the door.

“SO YOU HAVE ARRIVED!  I AM GLAD YOU’VE RETURNED SAFELY, WITH THE HUMAN… WAIT, WHERE’S FRISK?”

“She's coming, just… can you get Toriel and Asgore in here?”

“OF COURSE!”

A moment later, the King and former Queen stood side by side near the front door, Papyrus present but merely a spectator.  Alphys whispered in Undyne’s ear, “Maybe… w-we should, uh, give them some privacy for this…”

Undyne’s response was a yell.  “No way!  I wanna see their reactions!”

Toriel gave her a questioning look.  “Reactions?  To what?  And Sans said you had Frisk with you…”

“We do, just… FRISK!  COME IN, THEY’RE HERE!”

Frisk slowly walked through the door.  Asgore and Toriel winced preemptively, expecting to find something horrible had happened to the human.  Instead, they found a mostly normal if quite exhausted girl, with a wide smile.  She was immediately enveloped in a hug by both at once.

“Frisk!  I am glad you are okay.  I was quite worried.”

“I know, mom.”

Toriel’s face fell at being referred to as mom, for once.  Still, she did not let go, even after Asgore did.

“Uhh, mom?  You might want to save your hugs.”

She released the child.  “Why?”

Frisk sighed.  “Well… this is kind of hard to explain, but… you know how I was asking about Asriel’s soul?”

Toriel’s face fell further.  “Yes… you did not do anything funny with that information, did you?”

“Heheheh… actually, I did.  I'll go over the details, later, but, uh… for now… would you like to speak to your son?”

They both took a step back with the same expression; eyes wide, sad but hopeful, mouth slightly open.

“My child… what do you mean?”

Frisk grinned and leaned out the front door, looking off to the side.

“Come on out!  Er- in…”

Slowly, Asriel shuffled into his father’s home, stopping just past the doorway, next to Frisk.  He had his  hands curled up and together near his chest, and stared at the ground, almost in shame.  He nervously looked up, giving a sad smile.  “Hi Mom… Hi Dad…”

Toriel’s hands jumped to her mouth as she gasped.  Asgore took two small steps forward before breaking down in tears.  Toriel did not move.  Instead, she questioned what she saw.  “My son… is it really you?  Is this real?”

She now looked to Frisk for an answer, who nodded frantically.  Asriel began to walk slowly toward his parents.  “Yeah, it's me,” he said.  Toriel fell to her knees, in tears now, and embraced her son.  Asriel hugged back, now crying himself, grinning ear to ear.

“Asriel… you're alive… you're alive…”

“Yeah… yeah I am…”

Suddenly, they were both squeezed by a hulking mass, nearly lifted off the ground.  Asgore.  Still sobbing, he refused to let go of his child and his former wife, tension between the used-to-be couple shattered for the moment by the overwhelming joy of seeing their kid alive.  Undyne and Alphys looked on with soft smiles, while Papyrus stood scratching his head.  It took everything he had not to launch into a series of questions about this tiny Asgore.  Frisk shed a few tears herself, mostly for them, but also for herself.  She succeeded.  Everyone was free, at long last, and now she could take in the pride and happiness that were the fruits of her efforts.  She let them stay together, the original Dreemurr family together again.  Only for a while.  She eventually decided to join in herself, working her way into the huddle so that she could put her arms around a little bit of everyone.  It was a long time before they broke apart, several minutes at least.  As soon as they did, Toriel held her son's cheeks gently in her hands and looked at his face.  It had been so long since she had seen it for real.  They smiled at each other, Asgore looking down and smiling at them both.  This did not end until Frisk collapsed.

\--

Grillby’s was working at half capacity that day.  Some tables and chairs were packed away, in preparation for a move to the surface.  Grillby himself only stopped packing when Sans told him not to bother.  Grillby asked why, Sans didn't respond.  He simply sat down at the bar and looked back at the bartender until he returned to his station and got Sans a bottle of ketchup.  Sans looked at the ketchup for a minute before shrugging.

“actually, some whisky too?”

Grillby raised what would be an eyebrow on most creatures.

“please, grillbz.  i know it's not my usual order, but i’ve had a rough little while, and i don't think it’s getting better any time soon.”

Concerned, Grillby poured Sans a glass of whisky, before proceeding to unpack much of what he’d just packed.  He kept a corner of his eye on the skeleton; though Sans rarely drank, he nearly always did in excess.

Left with his own thoughts.  The other patrons were quiet enough, no one he knew was trying to bother him… Sans was left with his own thoughts.  This happened fairly frequently, for various reasons.  It was simply in his nature to be alone.  At least this time it was by choice, rather than because everyone else in the underground was dead.  This time.

He should have known better than to have expected happiness.  Last time he did… everything went very, very wrong.  That was the first time he felt alone.  He lost everything, and everyone, all because he failed.  Because he wasn’t good enough.  That was before he knew about the resets….

But things were looking up this time.  Monsters could see the surface, as soon as all his “friends” decided to go.  The only barrier left was that of all the minor distractions delaying their departure.  So he took a chance and allowed himself to love again.  He hadn’t loved anyone in any way for years, except for Papyrus, and now he did again.  Only a couple of people, but it was something.  Frisk and Tori.  Frisk and Tori.  The kid who’s either gonna ruin everything by resetting or get herself killed for some noble but stupid cause, and the woman who was probably going to fall back in love with the massive, handsome, kind  _ King _ of all monsters… with whom she had a kid.  A kid, who, thanks to Frisk, was probably gonna be the reason they fall back in love.  Wonderful.

Sans was extremely intelligent, in nearly every way.  ‘Book smarts,’ ‘street smarts,’ everything else… he could recognize his feelings as pointless and unhealthy.  He could recognize he was having too strong a reaction to what really may have been meaningless events.  Still, the jealousy and sadness he felt were primal, and had overridden whatever logic and reason he tried to insert into his thinking.

Everything was going so well this time that he had to remind himself that it could all just be reset at any time for any reason.  Maybe Frisk comes too close to death.  Maybe she realizes she made a mistake.  Maybe… maybe she just gets bored again.  He tried to shy away from the thought of his kid doing all those horrible things again.

His kid?  No, no, he couldn’t think of her that way.  She was Tori’s kid, if anyone’s, and she did have parents on the surface to go back to, probably.  He couldn’t grow too attached.  He loved Frisk almost as a daughter, but he couldn’t accept it.  It was wrong.  She could destroy everything.  It would be irresponsible for him to get too close to anyone, especially her.

Frisk was not his daughter, he had to keep reminding himself that.  Not that he’d acted like a dad at all, but he still kind of felt that way, much to his own dismay.  Still… if she was, it would be reasonable for him to be in love with the kid’s mother, then…

What a sideways way of thinking that didn’t really make a lot of sense.  He had to stop.  He had to get his head in the right place or everything will only get worse, at least for his psyche.  He shook his head left and right rapidly for a moment, as if it would flick all these thoughts away.  It didn’t.

Why did he think of Frisk as a daughter anyway?  Was he trying to fill the void left by…?

He failed her, all that time ago.  She died and it was his fault.  An impossible weight for a father to live with.

Did that mean Frisk was a replacement?  And would Toriel be a replacement for…?

He slammed his skull against the bar.  He hadn’t touched either of his drinks.  Maybe he should go back and at least talk to everyone.  Not about what plagued his mind, but just… about anything.  Just talking.  At the very least it’d be a happy distraction.  He drained the ketchup in one mighty swig, left his payment on the table (for once), and left, using a shortcut immediately after the doors closed.

\--

“FRISK!”

They all seemed to shout it at once.  Sans had just appeared downstairs, arriving to the choir of panicked voices.   _ oh, great, everyone thinks she’s dead again. _  He made his way upstairs to find everyone huddled around her body, Alphys examining her once again.  She asked the others to back away, before offering her diagnosis.

“W-well, I’m not an expert on humans, b-but if they’re anything like monsters, she’s… probably in a coma….”

“Well, how do we fix it?”  Asriel asked.

“Th-the thing is, we d-don’t, really.  We can’t do much but wait for her to wake up.”

Toriel was almost shaking with worry.  “But why… how could this happen?  I thought she was quite healthy…”

Alphys and Asriel shared an uneasy glance, which Toriel immediately picked up on.  “What.  Happened.”

“we’ll explain later.”

Everyone whipped around to find Sans approaching from the staircase with a calm but unhappy expression.

“for now, let’s get her into bed.  and, uh, be gentle.  kid’s been through a lot.  trust me.”

Papyrus lifted the child as gently as possible, and carried her off to her bedroom.

\--

“hey kid?  still sleepin, huh?  well... wouldn’t expect you to wake up so soon.  hmm... i dunno what to tell you.  we’re all still underground, asgore doesn’t want anyone goin up ‘till we do, cause it’s kind of important to have a human with us.  and if we carry you up, now… well, obvious trouble, right?  heh.  wouldn’t want that, would we?

“they say that when someone’s in a coma, they can still hear.  now, i dunno if that’s just a myth or what, but if it isn’t, i’d hate for you to be so bored this whole time.  just laying perfectly still for a few days straight might seem great from the outside… but nah.  i know it kinda sucks. sorry.

“so, uh, asriel’s sharing this room with you now.  ‘till we get up to the surface, at least.  hate to admit it, but he’s a good egg.  handsome, like his dad.  i can see why you like him.  but you don’t know that yourself yet, do you?  oh well… in time, buddy.  in time.

“tori finally let pap make spaghetti today.  he got nervous and asked undyne for help.  she broke her arm trying to body slam noodles into the pan.  how, i don’t know, but i do know she just walked it off like nothing was wrong.  it was kinda impressive, really.

“listen... we’re all real worried about you.  you, uh… mean a lot more to every single one of us than you realize.  i know, to them, you’ve only been friends a few days… but take it from someone who’s had plenty of time to get to know you and all of them.  they all really care about you, frisk.  and i do too.  even if i… shouldn’t….

“whatever.  just wake up soon, please.  or at least at all.  i mean, i know girls your age like to have slumber parties, but you’re taking the slumber part too seriously… heh heh.  nothin?  alright.  well, get better soon, bud.  we’re all waitin.”

\--

She opened her eyes.  Everything was a blur.  She could hear a voice.

“...have a top speed of around 50 yards per hour, making them one of the slowest species on earth.”

She managed to move her mouth and form a word.

“Interesting.”

The child sitting next to where she lie on the bed looked down at her, dropping his book with a gasp.

“Hey, Azzie.  Miss me?”

He leapt off the bed and stuck his head out the door.

“SANS!  SANS SHE’S AWAKE!”

“ok.”

“Aren’t you gonna come and see her?”

“but then i have to get up…”

Making an exasperated grunt, Asriel returned to Frisk’s side.

“Frisk, I’m so glad you’re awake.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t exactly fun… how long was I out?”

“Uhh… around… two weeks, I think?”

“TWO WEEKS!?!?”  Frisk shot into a sitting position.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” he said with a little giggle.

“Well… jeez… alright, any news?”

“Not really.  Undyne and Alphys finally kissed, they’re on a date right now, and Mom and Dad are out on their second first date right now… oh yeah, they’re trying to get back together.”

“Oh cool.  Good for you!  You have your old family back!”

“Well… not exactly.”

“Oh, right.  Sorry.”

“No, Frisk, it’s okay.  I’ve actually thought about that a lot, and… considering what Chara did, I’m oddly not very upset that she’s absent from the family.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah.”

“...well, I’m starving.  Is there anything good to eat?”

“Not that I know of.  Mom’s been spending all her time either with me or Dad, not so much in the kitchen.  And Undyne and Papyrus…”

“Yeah.  I know.  How’d you like your first taste of their spaghetti?”

“Well, imagine someone took a plate of normal spaghetti, left it out for three days, fed it to dogs who spit it out, then tried to wash it with soap and water.”

“Wow… it’s gotten that good?”

“Hee hee hee, yes it has.”

They sat in surprisingly awkward silence for a moment.

“So are monsters upset that we haven’t gone to the surface yet?” Frisk asked.

“Surprisingly no,” Asriel responded, “A lot of people are surprisingly reluctant to leave their homes.”

“Well that’s good… come on, I wanna find some food.”

“Right behind you, I haven’t had dinner yet either.”

“Yeah, but I skipped like a million meals.”

“Oh please, it doesn’t count if you slept through them.”

“Why not?”

“...I don’t know, Frisk.  I just don’t know.”

They looked at each other with a smile before getting up and beginning their search for nourishment.  Asriel hadn’t fully absorbed the fact that she was all right.  But it didn’t matter.  He was oddly excited to spend time with her, even if it was sharing horrible reheated snail pie over a bad cartoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> Brownie points if you picked up on foreshadowing leading to a few events this chapter, more if you pick up on extra foreshadowing this chapter for still upcoming events.  
> Thanks for coming back, by the way. Really does mean a lot to me that some of you like this story. But if you have issues, please let me know.  
> Not that anyone asked, but "Live at Grillby's" has pretty much fueled this whole thing.  
> Thanks for reading, you rock. Really. Remember that rock SpongeBob drove? That's you, you rock.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk wakes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short happy chapter 'cause why the hell not.  
> (I have a headache and no time; this chapter has not been edited. Sorry.)

Frisk and Asriel were sitting on opposite ends of a couch, leaning up against the armrests, while something horrible on television provided white noise.  Monster TV was better than human TV, but that isn’t saying much.  They had eaten, and were now just sitting, both full, eyes fixed on the television, until Asriel decided he wanted to do something else.

“So… we have a couple of hours before anyone comes home.  What do you wanna do?”

“I don’t care, Azzie.  Whatever you want.”

“ _ Azzie? _ _ AZZIE? _  Please… please don’t…”

An evil grin crept across Frisk’s face.  Asriel knew had had made a big, big mistake.  “Oh no,” he uttered, covering his eyes with his ears.

“So, Azzie, how’s life being a prince, Azzie?  You know, Azzie, not everyone is so lucky.  Oh, Azzie, Azzie, Azzie… all the privilege of being Prince Azzie!”

“Come on, Frisk!  How’d you like it if I called you Frisky?”

“I wouldn’t mind one bit.  Besides, it’s accurate.”

She gave him a wink, and he immediately blushed and looked as though he wanted to shrivel up into a ball.  He did not, but Frisk almost did, in laughter.  Was making him uncomfortable always gonna be this fun?  She could get used to it!

“Oh, ha ha, glad you find it so funny,” Asriel stated as flatly as possible.

“Hahaha, yeah, haha, me too!”

“I’m… really sensitive, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s obvious.”

“I know… hey, do you think we should call Mom and Dad and Alphys and Undyne to tell them you’re awake?”

“Nah, they’re all on dates, right?  Don’t want to interrupt them.”

“But what if they’re worried?”

“Then they’ll be relieved when they get back.  Then we can go up to the surface.”

“Yeah… say, Frisk?  I hate to ask this, but… are we gonna see you a lot?”  His face was dark, snout pointed shyly away, but eyes right on Frisk’s.

“What do you mean?”

“Well… when we go up to the surface, you’re gonna go back to your parents, right?  I just want to know if we’ll ever see you…”

“You’ll see me every day.”

“Really?”  He faced his head toward her again.

“Yeah.  And every night, and always.”

“Wait… what?”

“I don’t have a life to go back to, Asriel.  I’m gonna ask if I can stay with you.”

“Really?  Good!  That's… really great.  But make sure you tell my mom that, cause she's been kinda down thinking she’d have to give you up.”

“Nah, that ain’t happening.”

“Good!  I’m… happy, Frisk.  Really.”

“I am too.  I’m really looking forward to it.  Just… living with you and your parents.”

“...”

“So, what  _ do _ you wanna do?”

“I dunno, maybe there's something good on TV.”

“If it's anything like human TV, I doubt it.”

“Is human TV bad?”

“Kinda, yeah.  You have hundreds of shows to choose from and all of them suck.”

“Wow, then how do you entertain yourselves?”

“Well, human internet is really different from monster internet.  I mean, there are whole movies and shows and stuff, music, video games, social media… and a ton more.”

“Golly, that sounds cool.”

“Monster technology is weird…”

“How?”

“You guys have working jetpacks and interdimensional item storage but your phones barely have touch screens…”

“I think that’s because we base some of that stuff off of what we find in the trash.  The trash from humans, I mean.”

“I know, it’s just odd to me.”

“I guess so… what's the surface like?”

“What do you mean?  I thought you've been up there.”

“I have but it was so long ago.  They were throwing spears at me, not shooting guns… so if they have some more advanced internet now, it's probably a whole lot different that it was.”

“Oh, okay.  Well, when we come out we’ll be in the forest I think.  Trees haven't… changed much…”

Asriel giggled a little at that.

“Anyway, we’re probably gonna head toward the city.  There are tons and tons of people living in massive buildings that are really tall, called skyscrapers.  And stores and stuff like that of course.  But we might head to the more suburban area that's a little closer than the big city, the place where most families live and there's a bit more room… the place where I came from…”

“Sounds… big.”

“Yeah, compared to here, the surface is really big.  Lots of open space, some fields just to run around.  It’s pretty nice.”

“Fields?  How big?”

“Anywhere from the size of a small backyard to miles and miles.”

“Woah…”

“...”

“So why aren’t you going back to your parents?”

This was a question Frisk had been dreading.  Thankfully, Asriel was not one to push people beyond the limits of their comfort, and it was easy to deflect.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.  Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.  But… are they-?”

“I said I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Right, right, sorry.”

They both shifted a little on the couch, avoiding each other’s gaze.  A few rooms away, they heard a thump, as if something heavy had fallen.  They looked at each other and went to investigate.  A few rooms over, Sans lay with his face in the carpet, awake for once, and appearing a little shaken.  Upon hearing the children enter the room, he said “help, i’ve fallen and i choose not to get up.”

Frisk scoffed and rolled her eyes, before crouching to try to hoist the skeleton onto his feet.  “Come on, Sans!  What were you doing?  Rrrrr… you’re really heavy.”

“oh, gee, thanks, that’s great for my self-esteem.”

“Sorry.”

“no, really, i pride myself on my weight despite being mostly empty space.”

Frisk tried again to at least flip Sans onto his back.  She failed.  Sans wasn’t helping, he didn’t really care whether he stay on the ground forever or stand.  So long as whichever it was, he didn’t have to move a muscle.  After a couple of more attempts, Asriel joined the fray, and the two of them together were just strong enough to push Sans so that he sat up against the front of the chair in which he presumably previously sat.

“thanks,” Sans said, before promptly falling asleep on the spot.

The children looked at each other, each equally entertained and annoyed at Sans’s behavior, as usual.  The two continued to walk around the house, distracting themselves however they could as the evening wore on.  Asgore didn't have much in the way of electronic entertainment, and no monster seemed to have heard of a video game, so Frisk settled on playing with Asriel’s old toys, causing Asriel to happily join in.  After several minutes of this (interrupting a rather intense battle between seven Mettaton action figures and a legion of stuffed animals), the front door opened.  The children could hear the hushed and hurried whispers of their parents as they crept closer to the kids room.  They stopped playing, they stopped making any noise, instead listening.

Toriel put her ear to the door.

“I do not hear anything in there.  Frisk must still be asleep…”

Heading this, Frisk jumped up and shouted through the door.  “No I'm not!”  Next thing she knew, she was being knocked backward by rather forceful pushing of someone who obviously didn't know Frisk was right up against the door.  She fell back on her bum.

“Oh, goodness, Frisk!  I am sorry for pushing you over, but I am glad you're awake!”

Toriel pulled her to her feet with one arm, smiling gently.  Frisk returned the expression to Toriel, and to Asgore, whose face was visible over her shoulder.  Frisk jumped up to give her a hug, one she accepted with a moment’s hesitation.  It obviously made her a little uncomfortable.  Asriel picked up on the sadness in his mother’s face.  “Hey, Mom?  Is everything okay?”

“Hmm?  Oh, yes dear, worry not.  Just… Frisk, would you climb down please?”

She did, albeit confused.  Toriel always seemed to enjoy giving and receiving hugs, and now… not?  Something was wrong.

“Mom?”  she said,  “Are you upset by something?  Did I do something?”

“P- please do not call me mother anymore, Frisk.  I am sorry.”

Frisk let her mouth drop, staring into Toriel’s eyes.  The monster looked for a moment at Frisk, then at her son, then at her feet.  Shame filled her heart, and a tear nearly came to her eye.  What a horrible, horrible thing to say to a child.  But it was necessary, was it not?

Frisk didn’t exactly mean to, but according to Asgore, she was giving Toriel big, cute, puppy dog eyes as she asked the question.  “Why?”

“If she’s gonna stay with us,” Asriel added, “Why can’t she?”

Toriel blinked hard and looked back at Asgore.  He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  The mother looked at her son.  “Because she must go back and live with her real parents.  Right, Frisk?”

“No I don’t!  I want to stay with you!”

Nobody but Toriel was surprised at that.  “Frisk… don’t be ridiculous.”   
  


“I’m not being ridiculous!  I… look, I can’t exactly go back to my real parents.  They’re… well… I want to stay with you, and I mean it.  I won’t be missed, I promise.”

“They should at least know you are alright-”

“No.  They shouldn’t.  Just… I’m staying with you.  Is that okay?  Isn’t that what you want?”

“...”

“Mom, I love you.  I love all of you.  Please… let me stay.”

Toriel sighed, trying to suppress a smile.  It seemed wrong to be so happy that somewhere, this girl’s parents were likely not to see her again.  But, as much as she tried to deny it, she already loved Frisk.  And apparently, Frisk felt the same.

“All right, Frisk.  I guess we are one big, happy family now!  Come here, both of you.  It’s time for the whole family to come together in a group hug for the first time!”

Asriel smiled and ran into his mother’s arms before turning to face Frisk, who hesitated.

“Well?  Come on!”

“Never mind, I don’t wanna stay, you guys are too corny!”

They all giggled.  “Come on, don’t pretend you don’t love it!” Asriel teased.

Shaking her head and smiling, Frisk joined in the embrace.  It was really just a quick squeeze from Toriel, nearly breaking every bone in each child's’ body with the pressure, but it was filled with love.  After she released, they all turned to Asgore, who was standing a little farther away now and appeared to be kind of sad.  Asriel walked up and hugged his leg.  “Come on, Dad.  Cheer up!  You guys can get married again some day, right?”

They both looked to Toriel, who folded her arms and made an odd face.  “I don’t know yet, my child.  I just do not know.”

\--

Eight stood before what was now a hole in a side of a mountain.  Morning light found its way down the long cavern, illuminating the faces of them all.  At long last, the barrier that once stood here was gone, and they could go to the surface.  They could live free lives in a world renowned to be far better than the underground in every way.  Wide open spaces, sunlight, kind souls…

At least some of it was true.

But they weren’t thinking about that now.  They were in love with the ideas they already had and were excited to see them realized.  The king stepped out in front of them all and spoke prepared words.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are all about to take part in a moment in history.  I am honored to lead the eight of us onto the surface, and to be a part of the first group of monsters to leave the underground in millenia.”  He glanced at his son.  “Err… permanently.  Anyway, without further ado, let us depart for bigger, better lives for all monsterkind.”

He walked forward at a calm pace, Toriel at his side.  Right behind them were Undyne and Alphys, holding hands and smiling.  Papyrus and Sans followed, Papyrus marching forward confidently and excitedly, Sans with his eyes closed and hands in his pockets.  Not very enthusiastic.

Frisk started for the exit, but noticed someone was missing.  She turned around, and found him with his hands folded, looking at the ground, leaning against a wall.  A quick glance back at the marching group.  They were slow enough and the cavern was long enough; she had time.

She now stood directly in front of him, merely a foot away.  Tilting her head to the side and giving a gentle smile, her right hand found its way to his shoulder, giving it a quick pat.

“Hey.  You okay?”

“What?  Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Then why aren’t you moving?”

“I’m scared.”

“Don’t be, all those problems were years ago, and I won’t let anyone-”

“I’m not scared of the humans, Frisk.”

“...oh.”

“All this has been so sudden… a couple of weeks ago, I was a flower.  I was living my half life like any other day and now…  _ this _ .  Frisk, I dunno.  It’s just too good to be true I guess.  I’m scared that it’s not real.  Or… I’m scared that it won’t be for long…”

“Oh, Asriel, are you afraid that I’ll….  No, Asriel.”  She hugged him tightly.  He didn’t hug her back.  “That will  _ never _ happen.  Do you understand?  I promise.”  She put a hand on each of his shoulders and held him at arm’s length, so she could observe his face.  His eyes were closed, perhaps a trace of water under each.  She shook him a little, playfully.  Luckily, that opened his eyes and elicited a small smile.

“Now come on,” she said, taking his hand, “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> I know it's been a few days, and I know it's a short one. I'm in high school, taking nothing but high-level classes, and I'm in a number of different after-school organizations and similar. To be blunt, it's a bit much, and it's hard for me to write as much as I want to. Especially since I live in a tiny house with a large family. I'm lucky if I get a real keyboard, even luckier if I get a quiet room.
> 
> So I ask you this: Do you want faster updates with shorter chapters (1-2 days between each chapter, chapters between 1500 and 2500 words long) or slower updates with longer chapters (3-7 between, 3800+ words long) like I have been doing?
> 
> Sorry bout all this, and thank you for sticking with it. You rock.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surface awaits!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, might not be my best chapter. This is a part of the story I didn't want to write (for no particular reason), but one that needed to be told.

“Oh, they're holding hands.  That’s adorable!”

Alphys’s comment made everyone turn around to find Frisk and Asriel lagging a bit behind the others, indeed hand in hand.  Asriel immediately let go, jumping away, face like a tomato.

“What?  N-no we weren't.”

Frisk just laughed.  They continued walking forward, now a bit farther apart, the monsters already amazed by the blinding light at the end of the surprisingly long tunnel.

As the light blue sky grew clearer, it amazed the monsters who had never seen it.  Papyrus seemed particularly enamored with its expanse.  The burning white ball that was the sun was in view, and naturally became the topic of conversation.  Questions like “What is the sun?”  and “What are this white whispy things?” got bounced around, and Frisk was happy to answer.  Most of them, however, she left to one of the Dreemurrs or Sans.

The cave ended abruptly.  There was no gradual widening or slow accumulation of vegetation closer to its exit, it was simply  _ cave  _ then  _ surface _ , as if divided with the stroke of a pen.  They all stood in a line, now, each waiting for another to take the first step. 

“How about on three?”  Frisk offered.

“Wonderful idea, my child,” Toriel agreed.

“Ready?  One-”

“three.”  Sans hopped onto the grass before anyone had a chance to lift a foot.  Some rather colorful language directed at the skeleton followed, particularly from Undyne.  His goofiness just made the kids smile, however, as he hoped.  Soon, they were all on the other side, basking in the fresh air and sunlight.

Proceeding through an overgrown path in the forest, they found the edge of the mountain.  A sheer cliff, hundreds of feet above the ground.  It certainly posed a safety hazard, but they were all too distracted to be concerned with such petty issues.  The cliff was above any trees, and provided an extraordinary view of their new world.

A vast forest spread before them, terminating on the right near human civilization.  The green leaves gave way to gray skyscrapers, many windows alight even though the sun was shining high.  Further to their right was an area less densely populated; normal sized homes with small yards spread out more than the city.  To their left, the forest grew thicker, and proceeded up other mountains along the range.  Past the trees straight ahead lay a massive, shimmering lake, its movements only visible in the way the light bounced off of it.

The view was, in a word, beautiful.

Asgore found a small tear in his eye; he thought he’d never see all this again.  He thought he’d never feel the wind, never smell the air… and experiencing these things brought him peace.  Toriel felt much the same way, perhaps not quite as strongly.  Sans stood very still taking it all in, before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.  Undyne and Alphys shared smiling glances, frequently shifting their gaze from the surface to each other and back.  Papyrus began conjuring up ways he planned to gain the trust and respect of humans, with the ultimate plan of having a statue of him erected at every street corner.

Subconsciously, Frisk and Asriel joined hands again.  Both staring out and smiling, more happy for those around them than themselves.  Asriel never had a moment to really absorb the surface world, even though he had been there before.  The amazing feeling of the wind ruffling his fur drove his head up a bit and his eyelids down, at least until it also drove one of his ears into his face, leading to an annoyed grunt from his own mouth and an entertained chuckle from the human beside him.

It took some time, but Asgore came around to thinking about the future.  He shifted uncomfortably.  Now was as good a time as any, he supposed.

“Attention, everyone, I have a special request to make.”

All heads turned to face the king.

“This is the beginning of a new era, one of monsters and humans living together in peace.  But, things are sure to have a shaky start, so I would like to appoint an ambassador.  So, Frisk…”

She gasped.

“Would you be willing to be our ambassador to the humans?”

She nodded wildly.  “Yes, of course!”

“Oh… well, wonderful!”

“Yeah, Frisk’ll do a great job!” added Undyne, before walking over and ruffling Frisk’s hair a bit.

Sans, however, was a little concerned.  “you sure you wanna do that, buddy?  i mean, things are gonna be pretty rough.  i can feel it in my bones.  maybe not today, maybe not to _ marrow _ , but eventually.”

“Yeah, Sans, I’m sure.  This is something else I feel like I have to do.  I mean, I’m a human, right?  That should help things go over smoothly.”

“don’t you think that’s why he asked you?”

“I don’t think that’s a secret.”

“No it’s not,” Asgore verified.  “Well, without further ado, let us now go and make first contact.  It has been… far too long since monsters have been up here, and it is easy to forget there is more to experience than this view.  Though I don’t imagine it gets much better.”

Despite his words, they all looked out over the horizon for several minutes more.

\--

At last, it was time.  They stood deep enough into the forest that it was unlikely that they’d be seen, but close enough that they could hear the goings on of a suburb.  Cars, horns, other mechanical noises, as well as infrequent echoing voices.  They had to have a discussion about how they should go about this.

Asgore spoke.  “Okay… this will be our first encounter with humans.  I believe Frisk should go, as she will be familiar.  There should only be one monster with her.  Any more would be overwhelming.  But who is willing?”

“I WILL GO!,” demanded Papyrus, “I WILL MAKE THE GREATEST FIRST IMPRESSION!”

“No, Papyrus,” said Undyne, “You’re too… overbearing.  Someone else I think.  Not me, I’d beat them up too quickly.  Alphy?”

“Um, uh, um, I, uh-”

“No, alright.  That’s fine.  Does anyone want to?”

Frisk had a suggestion.  “I think it should be the smallest, cutest, least threatening looking one.”

Asriel froze as all heads turned to him.

“What?  nononononono…”

“Come on, Azzie!”  Frisk assured, “You'll be fine!”

“But I don't know how to explain any of this!”

“You don't have to, you're just proof monsters are all cute and fluffy.”

“...you can stop calling me cute.”

“Nah, I don't think so.”

Toriel walked over to her son and knelt down so that she looked him in the eye.  “My child, she is right.  It may not be the best idea to send the two of you out there alone at first- you are children, after all- but I believe it has the highest chance of success.  We will be watching from afar to keep you safe.”

“Alright mom.  I'll do my best.”

“Thank you, Asriel.  Now, please, go!  I am curious to see the humans’ reactions!”

Frisk took off toward the neighborhood with a confident skip, stopping and beconing to Asriel once she was some distance away.  Hesitantly, he ran to catch up, and they made their way into the world of the humans.

They stood on the porch of a nice looking house, a little bit separate from the others.  It simply seemed that there was more space on either side of this house than the others.  The street was (thankfully) empty, as this was a quiet part of town and most were at work.  They had approached this house because it was one of the few that had a car still in its driveway.  Also because Frisk just had a good feeling about it.

The human child raised a fist to the door and gave it a quick knock.  It swung open, revealing a tall, thin, middle-aged woman with dark hair wearing a yellow blouse.

“Hello, how can I-”

Her eyes fell on Asriel, causing a quick shriek.  She nearly stumbled backward in her hurry to put distance between herself and this creature.  But she did not close the door.

“What… is… that?”

“This,” Frisk said, putting her arm around her friend’s shoulders, “Is Asriel.  He’s, uh… this sounds bad, but don't get scared.  He's a monster.”

“A m- monster?”

“Yeah!”

“What the- how- what?”

“Listen, I can explain everything.  Can we come in?  He's not dangerous, believe me, and we really need your help.”

The woman took a moment to decide.

“Well, I suppose… if you really need my help… you can come in.”

“Thank you!”

They entered the home, greeted with a quiet and cozy living room.  The woman gave them a strained smile, gesturing for them to sit on the couch, which they did.  Oddly trusting, this one.  Frisk was impressed, but also concerned.  A new intelligent species sat before this lady, presented by a possibly crazy child, and she doesn't immediately call the police.  Granted, she constantly had her phone in hand, ready to at any moment, but luckily she restrained.  She also seemed to insist to stay near a door.

“So, what is that, and who are you?”

Frisk hardly knew where to start.  “Well… uh, I’m Frisk, and this is Asriel, like I said.  He’s, uh… well, humans and monsters lived together a long time ago up here, but humans locked them all underground for no good reason.  They’ve been living underground for generations, trapped by a magic barrier.  I fell down there, and met a ton of them, and they’re all really nice and everything, so I helped destroy the barrier.  Now they can come up here and live with us humans!”  Frisk was smiling widely, feeling as though her mission was accomplished.

“So there’s more of them?”

“Yeah, a whole civilization.”   
  


“Do they talk?  Can it…”  She was pointing at Asriel at this point.

“Yeah,” he said, “We can all talk just fine.”

The lady scoffed.  “This is some sort of prank, isn’t it?  He’s just wearing an elaborate costume, isn’t he?”

Proof that he was a real monster was needed.  Asriel sighed, then looked the woman in the eye.  “I’m going to do something, okay?  Just remember that you are in no danger.”

“In no danger?  What are you-”

She jumped when Asriel summoned a small purple fireball into his hand.  He had it grow and shrink slowly, to show he had control of it.  The lady looked on, wide-eyed, until at last the flame flickered out and Asriel returned his hands to his lap.

“Oh my god… that was…”

“Yep,” Frisk said, “Cool, huh?  Well… this is weird, how do I ask something like this?  There are a ton more, but only a few are outside right now.  Do you mind if we get them so they can all talk to you?”

The woman looked as if she was going to have a heart attack.

“Err- I’m sorry, lady,” Frisk continued.  “If it’s too much trouble, we’ll find someone else.”

“How do I know it’s safe?”

“What?”

“That thing just made fire out of nowhere!  How do I know the others aren’t gonna-?”

“Well,  why would they?  They’re eager to live on the surface again after all these years of overcrowding and tiny homes and everything, I don’t exactly think they want to ruin their relationship with humans this quick.”

The woman didn’t know what to do.  It was probably a bad decision to go along with this, right?  A stranger comes in and tells you she needs your help with monsters, and there’s this furry thing that made fire, and who knows what else will come.  But she was only a child… and she looked so hopeful… and despite it all, she  _ was _ curious.

“Alright,” she said, “If you can promise me that I am in no danger, and no one else is either… I guess you can bring the others in.”

“Great!  Thanks!  I’ll be back in a minute.”

Frisk bolted out of the room before either the lady or Asriel had time to react.  Asriel sat in place, awkward and nervous.  Small talk couldn’t be a bad thing, right?

“My mom and dad are really nice,” he said.

“Is that who the girl is going to get?”

“Yeah, and a few others.  Thank you for helping us, by the way.  I was kind of afraid we’d meet someone mean, and they wouldn’t help us.”

“Oh, not at all.  You’re a polite young man.”

“Thank you.”

The lady put her phone down and stepped away from the door for the first time.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve really been introduced.  I’m Mrs. Worthman.”

She extended her right hand.  Asriel hesitantly took it.

“Asriel.  Er- Prince Asriel Dreemurr.  That how my parents want me to introduce myself.”

“A prince?  Really?”

“Yeah… that’s actually probably important.  My parents are the King and Queen of all monsters.  But don’t worry, they’re super nice, like I said.  Speaking of…”

The door opened and in walked Frisk, leading the rest of the monsters into the home.  They stood in a line, Frisk at one end, introducing them one by one.

“This is King Asgore, and Queen Toriel, and Sans in the blue and Papyrus in the white and red- they’re brothers, and Undyne is the fish lady and Alphys is the lizard.  Say hi, everyone!”

Asgore and Toriel gave formal hellos and greetings, each shaking Mrs. Worthman’s hand as Asriel did.  Papyrus grabbed her hand with both of his and shook it up and down wildly, expression how large an honor it was for him to be among the first to meet a human.  Undyne did the same, albeit more comfortably, and Alphys gave a small wave without saying anything.  The last monster remained silent, his mind seemingly somewhere else.  It took the gaze of everyone in the room to shake him from his thoughts.

“oh, heya.  i’m sans, sans the skeleton.”

Mrs. Worthman had a hard time finding words.  Skeletons?  Big furry things?  But they were all so kind and sincere seeming…

“Well, I am glad to meet you all.  Frisk said you needed my help, is that so?”

“Yes,” Toriel said, speaking for the group “We simply would like assistance in contacting human officials, if that is okay.  This is a large endeavor, so can you help us speak to your king?”

“Oh, we don’t have a king here.  But I can help you talk to the mayor, if you want.”

“That would be wonderful.  Do we do that by phone, or-”

“Actually, I’m his wife.  I’ll give him a call for you and he’ll be here soon.”

“Thank you very much.”

The human woman retrieved her phone once more and retreated into another room for quiet, leaving the monsters in a kind of awkward silence.  They all shifted uncomfortably in anticipation, all except for Sans, who had plopped himself on the couch next to Asriel seeming utterly apathetic.  After a couple of minutes, the woman returned.

“Alright… John should be here in half an hour or so.  He doesn’t exactly believe me when I tell him there are monsters in our home, but oh well.  What is your plan, anyway?  How can he help you?”

Asgore stepped forward to answer the question.  “I’m hoping that he will be understanding, and that he will assist in our integration into human society.  There are millions of monsters, and we all need homes and our children need education… we are perfectly happy operating all this ourselves, but there is simply no way we can do anything without human cooperation.”

“Well, if you need homes, they just finished construction of a whole new neighborhood not too far from here.  There aren’t many people buying, so maybe some of you can live there?”

“That would be wonderful.  Who do we contact to set that up?”

“After my husband, a real estate agent?  I don’t know much about that sort of thing.”

“That is fine, we can discuss it with the mayor.”

“Yes, I believe he will be very- wait, millions?  You said  _ millions? _ ”

“Yes, there are a lot of us.  But I believe we will not be too intrusive.  After all, we do not need to all live in one area, we can spread throughout the world.  Er- where are we anyway?  Our location has been lost to time in the Underground.”   
  


“Oh, you’re in the United States of America.  If you were sent down there from here all those years ago, I guess that explains how you speak English….”

“The United States of America?  Is that the kingdom?”

“Ha ha, no, that’s the country.  Like I said, we don’t have a king.  Lucky for you, we’re the most prosperous country on the planet, and up here in the Northeast people are likely to be more accepting of a new people, I think.”

The monsters and the human made polite conversation, the monsters eager to learn about the human world and the human almost as eager to learn about monsters.  Toriel and Asgore did most of the talking, Frisk or Sans making little asides as they saw fit.  Undyne, Alphys, and Papyrus had their own conversation, and Asriel took to being a near silent observer.

After a while, the mayor did arrive, and had a very similar reaction to his wife at seeing the monsters, asking many of the same questions, and taking a little longer to trust them.  The mayor was a tall, broad fellow with a kind face, with a talent for commanding a room.  An unspoken contention arose between he and Asgore regarding who was in charge.  They all got along, though.

The mayor was not the only one to arrive.  He made a few calls, and soon, half the city council and several average citizens were present, more for the spectacle than anything else.  These creatures hadn’t been seen by humans for generations, and history has driven them into the realm of myth rather than reality.  Nearly everyone felt the same way: Disbelieving, then scared, then suspicious, then oddly excited.  Hopeful, even.  It was simply a happy, friendly town.

After a day of discussion between local government and the seven monsters plus Frisk, it was determined that they would indeed take up the new homes, all together on one side of the neighborhood.  Several more monster families would be allowed to come up at first, and the rest would trickle onto the surface as living (not just in this town, but elsewhere as well) became available.

Over the next week or so, they all got moved in.  Asgore and Toriel were living together, with Frisk and Asriel, of course, with Sans and Papyrus living across the way.  Undyne and Alphys shared a home a short way down the street.  Despite not technically being citizens of the United States, they paid taxes, and happily so, much to the delight of the city council.  In fact, that’s one of the major reasons they were so accepted, at least by government.

They had a few construction projects underway.  The royal family was, indeed, a  _ rich  _ and royal family, as they had plentiful amounts of gold, and found it was even more valuable to humans than it was to anyone else.  So they had plans submitted for two new additions to the neighborhood.  First, a much larger home, almost a mansion, with beefed up security.  This was to house the royal family once the time came.  Second, a large school for monsters.  This school was conceptualized with monsters and humans in mind, but until Toriel had a teaching certificate (which she was working on getting), she would not be allowed to educate them.

One by one, monster families begin to move into the previously empty neighborhood.  A few human families moved in as well, some having bought a few of the homes before they even knew of the existence of the monsters.  A few opened little shops where they could, others began looking for employment elsewhere.  Oddly, Grillby’s appeared down the street from the skeletons’ house, exactly the same as it had been in Snowdin.  When Sans was asked whether he had anything to do with its sudden move, he simply replied “hey, i’m just a regular.”

For the time being, the surface was wonderful.  The city welcomed the monsters with open arms; everything was looking up for them.  Resistant humans were few and far between, and were never loud or violent.  Asgore had his wife back (though they didn’t have plans to get remarried… yet) and Asriel was thankful to be alive.  Even Sans was in good spirits for once.  At last, the goal monsters have worked for generations to accomplish- peaceful life on the surface alongside humans- was achieved, at least in this city.

By god, they’d wish they’d never strayed outside it.

\--

He tossed and turned in bed.  Why couldn’t he sleep?  They’d only been in the new house for a few days, and school hadn’t even started yet, they’d hardly started the building….  There was nothing stressing him out, he didn’t feel ill or uncomfortable… then why couldn’t he sleep?

He knew why, he just didn’t want to face it.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw that flower.  Every time he closed his eyes, he felt fear.  Every time he closed his eyes, he felt death.

So he wasn’t gonna-

“Hey?”

Frisk stood in his bedroom door.

“What?  Oh, hey, Frisk.  Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“Shouldn’t you be?”

“Yeah… but I was having trouble with that.”

“Anything you wanna talk about?”

“No, no it’s fine… so, what’s up?  What do you need?”

“Well, I, uh… I’m having trouble sleeping myself, and, uh… this sound weird, but…”

“But what?”

“...could I sleep with you tonight, Azzie?  Pretty please?”

He smiled at her in the dark before scooting over in bed.  Why was he so willing to do this?  Wasn’t it weird?  He didn’t care.

She crawled into bed next to him, and snuggled her face into his shoulder.  “Good… night… Az…”  Then she was snoring, almost immediately.  Quietly, though.  It oddly soothed the Prince.

That night, they both slept better than they ever had in their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya~
> 
> Thanks to everyone who commented on the last one. You guys generally wanted longer chapters, but expressed that you'd rather have me take my time and not stress over it or anything... so thanks. It's actually quite encouraging. You guys rock.  
> Random side note: I'm 17 now. Happy birthday to me.
> 
> Edit: The comments are filled with compliments and happy birthdays, and I've tried to personally thank each one. But if you come later, THANK YOU SO MUCH. You have know idea how much all that means to me. You are really the best.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life during their first several months on the surface.

**TONIGHT’S NEWS- BREAKING NOW**

Here’s an unbelievable bit of news for you- monsters walk among us!  That’s right, a race of ‘monsters’ has recently been discovered by a twelve year old girl named Frisk in a city in New England.  Approximately two weeks ago, the young girl apparently stumbled when hiking a mountain, and fell into a large cave.  In this cave she allegedly found a whole civilization of monster people, seemingly as intelligent as humans.  Frisk led the King and Queen of the monsters up to the city’s surface, where they negotiated with city government for access to homes due to overcrowding in the Underground.  They are called monsters, but by all accounts seem peaceful and friendly.

We reached out to these monsters and Frisk, and were able to secure a brief interview with the young girl:

REPORTER: Hello, Frisk!  How are you?

FRISK: Oh, I'm fine, and you?

REPORTER: I'm doing well.  You're a polite little girl, you know.

FRISK: Thank you!

REPORTER: He he, you're welcome.  Just a little ball of sunshine.  Oh, I was told to ask you if you have a surname.  Is it just  _ Frisk,  _ or do you have a family name?

FRISK: Just Frisk.

REPORTER: Why is that?

FRISK: It’s just Frisk, can we leave it at that please?

REPORTER: Of course.  I'm sorry.  Let's talk about monsters, okay?

FRISK: All right.

REPORTER: What caused you to lead them up aboveground?

FRISK: Well, they wanted to.  I don't know if you know this yet, but they weren’t down there by choice.  They were trapped by us humans, years and years ago.  Everyone I talked to down there said that monsters have wanted to go to the surface for a long time, so I helped them do that.

REPORTER: They were trapped?  Really?  Do you know why?

FRISK: Yes I do.

REPORTER: Would you be willing to tell us?

FRISK: Not now, no, but when the time comes.  It's kind of a complicated mess of misunderstandings and stuff.

REPORTER: I see, I see… so you say that these monsters are generally good.  What exactly do you mean by that?

FRISK: Well, they're mostly kind, friendly people who just wanna live life and be happy just like everyone else.  I thought humans would be all afraid and assume they're evil or something, so I wanted to say that right away.

REPORTER: Well, you know, people across the nation have been making a number of different statements about that.  Let me show you a few of them.  Is that okay?

FRISK: Mhm.

_ The reporter handed Frisk a tablet with a video already loaded.  The first clip was from an older man in a suit. _

“Monsters?  A few days ago we’d never heard of them, and now they're living in our homes?  In our cities and towns?  No, they are just illegal immigrants to me, and should be crammed back into the hell they came from.  They're probably gonna bring hell with them.”

_ The second clip was a younger, but not young, poorly dressed man in a bright field. _

“Well, if ya ask me, den I say that they best be gettin back to that cave.  Monsters, ain't that right?  I don want them near my kids!  How do I know they won't get eaten or sumthin?  Or if they get taught them monster ways… hell no, I say.  Hell f**king no.”

_ A middle aged woman, being interviewed in her home. _

“I think that they should leave this place and go back to where they came from!  These… creatures, these abominations, are clearly not good.  They are demons sent by the Devil to earn the trust of good God loving people and drive them away from His truth.  They came from Hell and belong in Hell, and we should not help them.  We should not allow them to live with us, to eat with us… and I hear one is opening a school?  I'll die before I let my children within 100 miles of that place.”

_ A slob of a man, in a sweatshirt, being interviewed on a noisy street. _

“Monsters?  I'll tell you what they are.  They’re animals, and should be treated like animals.  Houses… bulls**t.  If they're gonna stay up here, the need to be put under human control, rounded up and worked.  I mean, that's what animals are for, right?  And you can’t argue that that's not what they are, just take one look at the damn things!  A fish, a lizard, and those… walking talking goats.  Round them up and put them to work or send them back before they take our jobs.”

_ Frisk put the tablet down and looked teary-eyed at the reporter. _

REPORTER: Do you have any comments?

FRISK: They're not animals… they’re not evil…

REPORTER: Would you say that these people are unjustified in their opinions?

FRISK: Yes... yes I would.  It’s easy to be against a people you've never really seen or met, because to you, they're nothing.  No part of your life.  So you can easily just s**t them away.

REPORTER: Uh, Frisk, you are on a television show, and you are a child.  Could you keep the language…?

FRISK: Right.  Sorry.  But I guarantee these people would not have those opinions if they just spend some time around monsters.

REPORTER: Are you certain?

FRISK: No, you can never be certain about anything.  But that is what I believe.

REPORTER: You look like you're trying not to cry.

FRISK: That's cause I am.

REPORTER: Well, I have one more to show you if you want to see it.

FRISK: I do.

_ The reporter handed the tablet back to her.  On screen, there was a young man and a young woman, both wearing glasses and standing on what appeared to be a university campus. _

“We think that there's nothing wrong with them really.  I mean, if they start attacking or something, then by all means, send them back, but so long as they're good taxpaying citizens, why should we?  They seem nicer than most of the humans I’ve ever met.  I think a lot of people are making assumptions and unfair conclusions just because they're scared, because these monsters are new.  They shouldn't, but hey, can't control others.”

FRISK: Well, that's a relief.

REPORTER: What is?

FRISK: Knowing not everyone thinks they’re all bad and stuff.

REPORTER: Did you think they were bad?  Before, I mean.  When you first met them.

FRISK: Well… that's kind of a long story...

REPORTER: Do you mind sharing it anyway?

FRISK: Not now, please.

REPORTER: That’s okay.  Now let's talk about-

SKELETON MONSTER: That's enough.

REPORTER: I'm sorry?

SKELETON MONSTER: The kid’s answered enough.  It’s a lot of pressure being on the spot like that, and I can tell you, she’s not liking it.  So that's enough.  Her parents want her to come to dinner now anyway.”

REPORTER: But that's what I wanted to talk about next.  There's a lot of controversy surrounding her supposed adoption by-

SKELETON MONSTER: I said that's enough.  Come on, Frisk.

FRISK: Sorry, we really should stop now. Is that okay?

REPORTER: Would you be open to seeing us for a follow up interview?

FRISK: Of course!  Maybe we can pick a better time, next time.

REPORTER: Absolutely, absolutely.  Thank you for talking to me.

FRISK: My pleasure.

_ Frisk stood and took Sans’s hand, and he led her out of the room.  The reporter and cameramen picked up their things and left the home. _

Well, there you have it, folks.  The child who saved the monster race.  It’s up to you, the American people, whether this is a blessing or a curse.  Be sure to tune in tomorrow for another interview with a robot monster who intends to make a big splash on the celebrity scene!  Stay tuned for more after these messages.

\--

“Frisk?  Did I hear you use a swear word during that interview?”

“Mom, I-”

“You know how I feel about that kind of language, Frisk.  That is inappropriate and…”   
  


She went on like that for half an hour.

\--

“Frisk?  Frisk, wake up!”

She batted her eyes open and was met with a blur.  Her head was pounding- why did she need to wake up?  According to the clock by her bed it was… 5:30?  She’d always been an early riser, and normally, this wouldn’t be such a horrible hour.  But last night, she hardly slept, because she was nervous.  Nervous about…

“Come on, Frisk!  It’s the first day of school!”

A partially-clothed, damp Asriel was shaking her still mostly sleeping body.  He took a step back when she finally rose, rubbing her eyes and forehead, slowly joining the world for the day.

“Ugh… Az… it’s not gonna start for like two hours, why are we up already?”

“We want to be early!”

“Do we?  Are you sure?”

“Yes!  Now get ready!!”

He eagerly hopped off to his own room to find a shirt, leaving Frisk to her own devices.  Without a monster disturbing her peace, she did what felt natural: fall back asleep.  When she once more awoke (now to find Toriel had joined her son in shaking Frisk awake), she groggily made her way through her morning processes.

The first day of school was exciting, especially because right off the bat there were humans.  Not human students (except for Frisk, who managed to slip into the roster despite Toriel technically not having earned her permits or degrees), but a couple of human teachers who were looking for work.  They applied when Toriel was looking for monster teachers, and luckily managed to get jobs.

\--

Walking into her first class, Frisk got a number of funny looks from monster children; everything from curiosity to respect and awe to mild distaste.  It made her a little uncomfortable.

This was a class with one of the human teachers.  She’d be sure to pay close attention to the interactions between the students and the teacher.  This was the first time this sort of thing ever happened, and she would act as moderator if necessary.

She sat down, looked up, and saw the teacher hunched over his desk, writing something.  A Her heart sank.  She knew him.  He was one of her old teachers, Mr. Bennett.  He’d recognize her, wouldn't he?  Oh god, this couldn't go well.

He called attendance as anyone else would, stumbling on the odd names, looking up from his sheet for a second or two after each one to look for raised hands and listening for ‘here’s.  And at last…

“Frisk?”

She turned her head a bit, so her hair partially obscured her face.  “Here,” she croaked, quietly, hardly lifting her hand off the desk.  He didn't look straight down at the paper to mark her presence as he did with all the other students.  Instead he squinted at her, causing her to turn her head more and obstruct her face however she could without being too obvious.  After several seconds, Mr. Bennett shrugged, and continued with the class.

“Alright everyone… who can tell me what you’d call an extraordinarily hard allotrope of carbon?

Silence.

“Okay then, how about this: What’s a girl’s best friend?”

A lizard monster in the corner of the room raised his hand.  “Money?”

“No sir.  Maybe all your girlfriends have been gold diggers, but the word I’m looking for is ‘diamond’.  But you weren’t far off.”

The class had a collective giggle.   _ Great _ , they all thought,  _ he’s gonna be  _ that  _ kind of teacher.  This should be a good class. _

In a word, it was phenomenal.  Frisk at no point had to step in.  Mr. Bennett was an entertaining teacher, obviously enjoying every second of his job and his subject (science).  For the most part, the students treated him like any other teacher, and he treated them the same.  Of course, more raised hands asked about the human world than asked about science, but Bennett happily answered, often with a hearty chuckle, quickly returning to the curriculum.  By the end, everyone was satisfied, especially Frisk.

An hour of learning later, Mr. Bennett collected all the students’ papers and returned to his desk.

“Alright,” he announced, “Get outta here!  See you all tomorrow!”

One by one, they filed out of the classroom in a hurry.

“Except you, Frisk.  You come see me.”

She froze in place.  The other students paid no mind, all leaving until the classroom was empty.  Only the humans remained.  Mr. Bennett walked over and closed the door, as Frisk made her way in front of his desk.  He sat back down.  Their eyes locked for what felt like several minutes, neither wanting to start the conversation.  Luckily, Mr. Bennett was willing to break the ice.

“Hey, Sam.  How are you doing?”

Frisk looked to the side.  “My name is not Sam.”

“Oh, really?  Cause last I checked, your name was Samantha, one of my top students.”

“I know.  But that's not me anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not Sam anymore, okay?  And I don't want to go back to being her.”

“Well, ‘Frisk’... Sam was always one of my favorites.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.  And I wish I had her back.”

“You have me, I'm just Frisk now.”

“I know.  But why?  Why were you on that mountain, why did you bring these monsters up here- I'm not against that, by the way- and why did you change your name?”

“Because I wanted to escape my life, alright?  I climbed the mountain to escape, I freed the monsters because they deserved it, and I changed my name because I don't want to go back.  Please… please don't make me…”

“No, Sam- er, Frisk- that’s not why I’m asking questions.  Your secret’s safe with me.  Really it’s inappropriate for me to ask a student these sorts of questions at all.  Still… can’t exactly blame me for being curious, right?  And I already admitted to favoritism, so- ah, oh well.”

“It’s fine.  Just a sensitive topic.  Can we leave it at that?”

“Absolutely, Frisk,” he said, emphasizing the use of her name.  “Now let me write you a pass for your next class, I’m sure you’re late by now.”

Aside from that chance encounter, school was fairly typical for Frisk.  She was quite intelligent for her age, getting high marks with relatively little effort.  For a long time, she was not called upon to perform ambassador duties, so she had only school to worry about.  Science first every day, then History with Miss Toriel (who still was uncomfortable being referred to as “Dreemurr”), English, Math, lunch, Phys Ed, Art, and ending each day was a special class about magic, monsters, and human relations.  This final class had no set teacher- different people different days, most monster, a few human, and when they couldn’t find a guest speaker, Toriel would take over.

Frisk was outgoing and friendly, but oddly had trouble making friends.  She simply didn’t speak unless spoken to, for the most part, listening rather than speaking.  Still, when she did talk, she  was impressively sure of whatever she had to say.  Because of this, she was on good terms with virtually everyone in the school.  Famous, but not popular.  An odd little niche populated only by her.

There had only been one exception to the rule, and of course it was Asriel.  They’d sit together whenever they could, they’d eat lunch just the two of them, and they’d talk the whole long walk back home at the end of each day.  Onlookers were impressed by the speed with which they grew from strangers to one another to downright inseparable.  Frisk saw Asriel as her only true friend, and Asriel saw Frisk as his.

Asriel himself did not hold Frisk’s confidence.  His status of Prince and general good attitude kept him well liked as well, though he couldn’t maintain control of a conversation, and was more often than not uncomfortable simply talking to people.  He did, however, find a couple of others he felt he could actually talk to that first year.  A couple of monsters who would join he and Frisk at lunch from time to time, both of whom were musicians and introduced Asriel to all kinds of new sounds, some from the monster world, some from the human world.  These monsters were never prioritized over Frisk, though.

One day, it was particularly nice out.  The school year was drawing to a close, despite the fact that it had only been going on for a few months.  That's what happens when you open a school in the middle of February.  It had been a good day for Asriel and Frisk- no particular reason, they just held food spirits the whole time.

The walk home was always long, always just the two of them.  Streets were always quiet, sidewalks always empty.  It was just them.  And a blue sky.

“Hey Az?”

“What's up?”

“I know the greatest dirty joke in the world.”

“Really?   _ You  _ know a dirty joke?”

“Mhm.”

“Alright, I'm listening.”

“Guess what?”

“What?”

“Chicken butt.”

She looked up at him with the expression a cartoon character would make after telling a pun.

“...I don't get it.  That's not even dirty, that's just… dumb.”

“It’s supposed to be an anticlimax.”

“Whyyyyy?”

“I dunno, it’s not my joke, I stole it from a TV show.”

“What show?”

“Mom would kill me if she knew I watched it, so I'm not saying.”

“I won't tell!”

“Not on purpose, but you might accidentally blurt it out just talking or something.”

“Come on, Frisk!  You gotta have more faith in me.”

“Oh, alright.  It was Family Guy.”

“Really?   _ That  _ was from Family guy?  Usually they're better.”

“You watch it?”

“Not really, but the little I've seen has been really good.”

“Oh.  I was gonna say, little mister perfectly innocent watches a show like that…”

“I'm not innocent.  You know that.”

“Come on, do you really need to turn this conversation dark and all?”

“You’re right.  I’m sorry.  It’s just hard to keep it out of my mind, that’s all.”

Asriel’s eyes were glued to the ground.  It was a pretty common thing for his mood to snap from exultant to depressed.  Usually Frisk didn’t really know how to deal with it… but this time, she had an idea.

“Az, follow me!”

She bolted off, through an intersection and down a sidewalk they didn’t normally traverse.

“Wait, Frisk, where are you going?” he said, taking off after her.

“You’ll see, come on!”

They ran through town, dodging out of the way of the occasional pedestrian or bicyclist, crossing streets at risky times.  Frisk had with her a sense of urgency that Asriel struggled to understand.  They ran as fast as their feet could carry them, down one street, then another, then another, stopping to catch their breath every so often.  After a while, they were no longer in the town, instead they were running through the forest.  Progress was slower because there weren’t many trails, but they made it through.

“Come on, just over here!”

“Frisk…” he panted, “We’ve been running uphill for a while now… what’s the point of all this?”

She’d gained some distance on him; he could barely make out her silhouette amidst the trees.  He was able to determine that she sat down on a rock.  Stumbling, exhausted, Asriel approached slowly, eyes unfocused.  The moment he sat, he rested his head on his fist.

“Asriel!”

“What?”

“Look up, you goof!”

He did.  And was immediately taken aback by the beauty.  He had unwittingly been led back to the outlook.  Back up the mountain and back to the cliff where the monsters had their first good look at their new home.  But it was different.  The leaves were greener, the sun was brighter… it was breathtaking.  Together they stared out onto the land, feeling the same joy they felt the first time they were there.

But something else was different too, to both of them.  Some other reason this was a little better, even.  They just couldn’t figure out what…

It took some time, but Frisk decided to break the silence.

“So… are you all cheered up?”

“Huh?  Oh, yeah I guess.  Thanks.”

“No problem, I thought you’d like this.  You know, I come up here myself sometimes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, when I just… need to get away.  Like the first time I heard what some of the humans thought of monsters… I just needed to be alone.  So I came up here.  And then I did again, and again… it’s a thing now, I guess.  I didn’t think I’d ever  _ invite _ anyone, but I guess I’m inviting you now.”

“Golly, Frisk, I… I don’t know.  This is beautiful…”

“Yeah, it really is.”

“...”

“So mom’s probably gonna get worried soon, maybe we should head back.”

“Yeah, it’s getting kind of late.”

“It’s like 4:00, Az.  That isn’t late.”

“For getting home from school it is.”

“I guess so, but we do stuff sometimes!”

“And mom gets worried every time.”

‘Yeah, she does.  Let’s go, I’m hungry.”

“Me too… but maybe not run, this time?”

“Oh, fine, fatty.”

“Wait, I’m… I’m not really fat, am I?”

“Of course not, I’m just teasing.”  She punched him in the shoulder.  “Besides, you can run circles around me.  You just couldn’t keep up today because you were sprinting for an hour straight in gym.”

“Yeah, while you sat around doodling.”

“Hey!  The teacher said that if I was feeling bad, I shouldn’t run.”

“Were you feeling bad?”

“Yeah, I was actually feeling pretty sick.”

“Oh, then why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because when I started talking to you, it just kind of went away.”

“...that’s weird.”

“Yeah, I know.  Hey, let’s actually go now.”

“Right behind you.”

From then on, the outlook became a normal part of the routine.  Not every afternoon, but when either of them was feeling down or had a bad day, the other would drag them all the way through the town, through the forest, and halfway up the mountain.  They’d talk up there, about nothing at all; school and video games and whatever else came to mind.  Sometimes they’d be so engrossed in conversation that it’d take a call from Toriel or the setting of the sun to jolt them into reality.  Then they’d return home, finish their homework, eat dinner, and start the next day anew.

Unfortunately this wouldn’t last forever.  The monsters were all going to be forced to deal with rather serious problems.  And the young ambassador would take the brunt of it all.

But that was later.  Now they talked.  Now they slept.  Now they enjoyed their first year on the surface.  It would be the only enjoyable one for a long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> Next chapter's gonna focus more on the adults than the kids, I think (ie. Alphyne stuff; the situation with Asgore and Toriel and Sans).  
> Thanks for reading, you rock.
> 
> Also, if you're looking for random Hopes and Dreams remixes or whatever, check out Sky Tenkitsune's "Hopes and Dreams and a cup of latte". I usually am not a fan of that sort of electronic stuff, but this one in particular is,,, really I don't know what word to use other than "cute". Just check it out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans talks to people, and so does Asgore.

Frisk and Asriel entered their home to find a mass lying on the couch, a laptop on his belly.

“heya, kiddos.  how was school?”

Asriel answered.  “Eh, school is school.  Never good, never bad, at least for me.”

“and you, frisk?”

“It was alright, but I have a mountain of homework to do, so I'm just gonna run upstairs and get started.”

“okay, don't trip.”

She did, halfway up, but caught herself.  Sans laughed a little, causing a little scoff from Frisk, though no one heard it.  After she disappeared for good, Sans tried to turn his attention back to his laptop, but had trouble doing so.  Asriel hadn't moved, and in fact was almost staring at Sans.  After a minute, the skeleton gave him a look.

“yes?”

“Why are you here?”

“what?”

“This isn't your home.  Why are you here?”

“am i not allowed to visit?  tori’s my friend, frisk is my friend, and after all this time i'd like to think you see me as a friend.  but it’s fine if you see me as a fiend instead.”

“I honestly don't know what I think of you right now.  It’s just kind of weird.”

“what is?”

“Well, my Mom and Dad are back together, but you still aren't giving up on her…”

“that's not why i'm here.”

“Then why?”

“cause you have a nice couch.”

“Riiiight.”

“‘sides, it’s not like this is the first time i’ve been here when you got home.  what's the deal now?”

“Honestly, the deal is that I've been wondering since the first time, I just never got around to asking.”

“mhm, and what's different this time?”

“Nothing.”

“there’s always something different, kiddo.”

“Nope, I just felt like asking this time.”

“is it because your dad’s been gone for a few days now?”

“...I'm gonna go find something to eat.”

“no sweets, tori’s orders.  and i know you're not telling me the tooth.”

Asriel stepped into the kitchen, but continued talking.  The two rooms were connected; divided by a wall not much taller than waist height, creating a sort of large window between them.  The Prince began rummaging through the refrigerator, hoping to find something tasty that didn't qualify as a sweet.

“Okay, maybe it does have something to do with the fact that Dad’s gone so much.  It just seems kind of weird that you started showing up more since Dad’s been away more.  Especially cause I know you like my Mom.”

“nah, that's not it.  you really do just have a comfy couch.”

“Come on, Sans,” he said, returning to the living room with a chocolate bar.  “I’m not a moron.”

“and i’m not lying or anything.  but I’ll have to confiscate that contraband.”

“I'm not coming over there, so you'll have to get up.”

“...then you can keep it.”

“Are you gonna tell my Mom?”

“dunno.”

“Well, it’d be a good excuse to talk to her.”

“do i need an excuse?”

“It might help.”

Asriel sat in a nearby chair, facing the skeleton.  To Sans’s dismay, he wasn’t going anywhere.

“uh, kid?  don’t you have something to do?”

“Not really.  A few of my classes are a day or two behind Frisk’s, so I don’t have her massive homework load quite yet.  Besides, since you’re here, I wanna talk to you about this.  Is that okay?”

“nothing to talk about, asriel.”

“Do you want to… uh, date my mom?”

Sans closed the laptop and his eyes.

“not gonna let it go, huh?”

“Well, it’s pretty obvious.  Especially since a while back you asked-”

“alright, maybe.  maybe tori’s… pretty cool.  but she’s my friend, and she’s with asgore, and i’m in no place to disturb her… even if she’s dating a child murderer whose mind is stuck five hundred years in the past and-”

“Sans, remember, he’s my Dad, too.”

“right.  sorry.  but ya get me, right?  i mean… toriel’s honestly the best person i know.  and asgore…”

“You’ve made your mistakes too, Sans.  I mean, you’re also a ‘child murderer’, right?”

“kid, not a good time to bring that up.  but you’re right, i guess.  even though everyone i’ve killed has been _evil_ and he’s killed _innocent…_ sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Asriel said with a sigh.  “You are right.  But Mom doesn't mind that sort of person, I guess, so long as they don't kill for bad reasons.”

“but asgore _did._  and that's why they broke up in the first place.”

“Exactly.”

“could you get to your point?  i'm getting just a little tired of having a thirteen year old lecture me about relationships.”

“Heh, is that what I'm doing?  But sure, I guess.  I'm saying that… maybe you have a chance.”

“...you _want_ me to get together with your mum?”

“That's not what I'm saying.”

“sure sounds like it.”

Asriel squirmed a little in his seat, avoiding eye contact at this point.

“Well… I dunno if I should tell you, but-”

Sans rolled over so that he was finally facing the child.

“then you probably shouldn't.  listen… i don’t know what’s going through your mind right now that makes you not want your parents back together.  but i'm done.  i have no hopes of stealing her away or anything, even if i used to, but that doesn't change the fact that i like talking to her and stuff.  capiche?  that's why i'm here, and that's why you don't need to tell me whatever it is you almost did.”

“Well, it’s not something I know for sure, but-”

“can it.  please?”

This was the most on-edge Sans had ever been without seeming threatening.  He seemed angry, almost- at himself, more than anyone else.

Asriel stood with a sigh, balling his chocolate wrapper up and stuffing it in his pocket.  “Alright,” he said in surrender, making his way toward the staircase.  “I'm gonna go distract Frisk.  See ya.”

“five bucks says she’s already distracted by something.”

“Uh, I don't know.  She’s actually really good at getting things done.”

“then it’s a safe bet, right?  but that's fine, if you won't bite, you won't bite.”

“Okay, thanks for understanding, I guess.”

“i’m not understanding, i'm undersitting,” Sans corrected, sitting up on the couch.

Rolling his eyes, Asriel proceeded upstairs, music briefly audible between the sounds of a door opening and closing.  Sans took a deep breath.  The kid was right about a lot of stuff.  Maybe he should… no.  Should he?

Well, he was there to talk to her, so that's what he’d do.

\--

“We’re sorry, Your Majesty, but there’s nothing more we can do.”

“Please, Governor.  I don't need much- just an anti-discrimination bill or something of the like.  My people are being bullied by yours.”

“I know.  And believe me, I don't like it any more than you do.  But the legislators are… polarized, and our side just can't get a majority.  They say there are too many citizens who feel too strongly that it is within their right to treat non-human entities as they wish.”

“I am aware.  But can’t you at least say that current anti-discrimination laws apply to us as well?”

“Well, they apply to people in the United States, and the same legislators are torn whether you’re people.  King Asgore, I am on your side, and I am working as hard as I can to make this right.”

“...I am aware.  Thank you for your help.”

“My pleasure.  I didn’t exactly expect to be dealing with this sort of thing when I was elected, but I don’t mind the hand I’ve been given.”

“Have a nice day, Governor.”

“The same.”

Asgore left the office, dejected.  Men in suits closed the door behind him, leaving him alone in the massive corridor outside.  Every step echoed, even under the cushion of his massive paws.  He squinted as he walked, shielding his eyes from the evening sun.  It was just at the right angle to be visible through the window.  With a sigh, he sat on one of the many benches along the wall.  It was always something of a struggle for him to use a cell phone- he had large fingers and was largely unfamiliar with computer technology in general- but he managed.  After a moment of ringing, his ride picked up.

“Hey, how’d it go?”

Undyne’s voice was nervous, but hopeful.

“Not well, I’m afraid.  State is still split on the bill- and I don’t think it’ll be passed any time soon.  Perhaps… perhaps we should make the best of what we have at this point.”  
  
“What?!  No way!  Asgore, I am _not_ gonna let you give up on this.  You deserve this, we all do.  Sure, things are fine back home, but other monsters are beginning to branch out.  And the things I’ve heard-”   
  
“I know.  Horrible.  Students not being admitted in schools, adults refused service at restaurants… I’m surprised there hasn’t been an assault yet.”

“...there has been.”

“Oh.  Well, that’s too bad.  Who was it?”

“No one we know, I don’t think.  Some bunny guy was standing outside his house, and a human just walking down the street saw him and started yelling things like ‘Go back inside!  It’s bad enough that you’re living here, I don’t ever want to see you in public.’  I don’t know what the monster said, but one thing led to another, and both of them ended up going to the hospital.  There’s actually this video of the whole thing someone caught on their phone, but you can’t hear anything.  I can tell you this, that human just let it all out.  He just fucked that guy up, and the bunny dude didn’t even hit back.  I have no idea why the hell the human had to go to get fixed, probably made up some bullshit about being attacked.  And I don’t think there are any monster doctors anywhere in human hospitals, so the guy who was _really_ attacked is probably gonna be in bad shape for a while.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah.  It’s taking all my effort not to go over there and-”  
  
“Undyne, you know we can’t do that.  As much as I want to as well.”

“You do?”

“Of course.  I’ve been mad about all this, but silently happy it hadn’t turned violent.  Now it has.”

“Then why don’t we beat the guy up?  No one has to know!”

“They’ll find out.  These human politicians are merciless.  We need to watch our step.”

“Whatever.  So you ready to be picked up?”

“Yes, I am.  I am quite eager to go home and make a nice cup of tea.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound too bad right about now.  I’ll be by that state house or whatever they call it in a few.”

“What are you up to right now?”

“Oh I’ve just been driving around downtown.  Right now I’m at a coffee shop.  Hey, do you want anything?”

“No thank you.  Not a big coffee drinker.”

“Yeah, me neither.  But once in a while I like it.  Anyway, I’ll be there soon.”

“Thank you.” 

Asgore’s phone beeped as he ended the call.  He looked at his feet.  He did this a lot, whether disappointed or embarrassed or bothered for any reason.  It was a habit his son picked up.

Almost immediately, an unfamiliar voice came from above him.

“So, ‘King,’ how do you feel?”

Asgore looked up.  A tall man with gray hair, balding slightly, in a nice suit and red tie stood before him.

“Not good, but thank you,” Asgore responded.  The human rolled his eyes.

“Your kind… you really are something, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry?”

“You and all your other freaks, I mean.  Monsters.”

“Oh, you must be one of my opponents.”

“You could say that.  You could also say that I’m an honest man trying to protect my people.  But that isn’t how you see me, huh?”

“Well, I don’t really know you.  So, if you would introduce yourself, I’d-”

“Fine.  Surprised you don’t… know by now, but I guess if you’re gonna be a politician without paying attention to politics, that’s not my issue.  I’m Senator Jack Shueman, and I don’t like you very much.”

“Well, Mr. Senator, I am-”

“Wasn’t finished.  Now listen.  This is all off the record, by the way, I am not saying any of this, and if you try to use it against me, I am coming at you like you have never seen.  But I don’t know why the hell you monsters even came here.  You didn’t exist a year ago, and now you’re campaigning for goddamn rights like it’s the 1960s.  What have your people done for us?  Nothing.  But we’re expected to allow you into our schools, our workplaces, our homes, even though a lot of us don’t want to.  You are a poison, you hear?  A poison on this great state, and I’ll be damned if it’s not the country tomorrow and the whole world next week.”

“But, Senator, We haven’t-”

“LET ME FINISH.  So you better keep that in mind.  You aren’t getting any further than you have.  I don’t give a shit if your town goes to hell, I just don’t want you dragging the rest of the state with you.  It’s gonna be a ton of pain and suffering if you proceed with your crusade for monster advancement or equality or whatever the hell you’re calling it.  A ton of pain and suffering for both of us.  But in the end I’ll win.  So give up now, okay?”

“Sir-”

“Give.  Up.  Now.  Okay?”

“...is that a threat?”

“Maybe it is.  I don’t even know myself.  Just don’t keep it up.”

Asgore opened his mouth, but the human turned and marched down the hall before he could speak, stopping in front of an elevator.  Without further stimulus, his eyes found their way back to the ground, though now he had lots to ponder.  This human had a problem with monsters, but he didn’t say what exactly it was.  And now he’s suddenly the monsters’ worst enemy?  He’d have to do research on this man later.

The device in his pocket vibrated.  He didn’t yet know how to read received texts, but he assumed it was Undyne informing him that she was, indeed, outside waiting.  Just in time too.  He’d almost fallen asleep.  It had been so long since he’d had a good rest.  Standing slowly, he made his way to the same elevator Shueman had used several minutes earlier.  Perhaps he’d have an easier time navigating the first floor exiting than he did entering.  Human buildings were never linear- so many branching hallways….

\--

“uhh... knock knock.”

The voice came from the other side of the door.

“Who’s there?”

“ivanna.”

“Ivanna who?”

“ivanna talk.”

“Well alright, why don’t you come in?”

He did, and found Toriel sitting on her bed reading, with a bright smile on her face.  Her computer was on, and the desktop looked odd, as if in attempts to use the device she accidentally moved things around.  Sans sat in the computer chair and turned to her.

“so, what’s up?”

“Oh, nothing, I suppose.  Just doing a little reading.  Do you know how many books there are in the library?”

“i’m not sure, haven’t seen it my _shelf_ .  but we could _book_ a trip over there if you want.”

“That sounds delightful, but I probably should not leave.  Asgore is probably going to arrive soon, and he probably wants to see me.”

“right.  about that… how ya doin?”

“What?”

“your big hunk’s been gone a lot recently.  i’m just wondering, uh, how ya holding up?”

“Oh… he has been gone a lot, hasn’t he?  Well, I’m fine, Sans.  Thank you for your concern.”

“are ya sure?  i can talk, if you wanna.”

“Yes, I am sure.”

A long silence.

“Hey, Sans?”

“yes, tori?”

“How are _you_ doing?”

“fine, why?”

“You’ve seemed a little distracted recently.”

“oh... right.  don’t worry bout that.”

“Sans, I am your friend and I want to help you.”

“yeah, i know.  and thanks for that.  but if i told you i don’t think you’d be willing to help me.”

“That is ridiculous.  I’ll do whatever you need.”

“...no you won’t.  i’m sorry, this was a mistake.”

He stood, giving the chair a spin for fun, allowing it to distract him however briefly.  Then he found his way to the door again.

“Wait, Sans?”

He shut the door behind him.  Great.  Three second in and already he drove himself out.  He found himself facing the door again, hand on the knob.  Iit soon fell back to his side with a sigh.  What to do now?  He didn’t want to go home just yet….  Perhaps he’d bother the kids.  They always had something interesting to say at the very least.

Looking up to the hallway before him, he found himself before a massive monster, at least twice his height and width.

“Howdy, Sans!  Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“uh, hey asgore.  and yeah, it’s pretty nice out.  so, how’d your thing go?”

“Not well, I’m afraid.  A number of humans are annoyingly stubborn.”

“mhm, mhm… well, i’ma go hang with the kids.  catch ya later.”

“Bye.”

It wasn’t abnormal to find Sans outside Toriel’s room, as if they’d just been talking.  In fact, it was far from a rare occurrence.  But something about his demeanor was just a little… off.  Asgore shrugged it off and proceeded to enter his partner’s room.

“Good evening, dear!” he greeted as he entered.

“Hm?  Oh, hello Asgore.”  She glanced up at him for a second then turned back to her book.

“So Tori…”

“Yes?”

“How was your day?”

“My day has been fine, and yours?”

“Frustrating.  It’s something so simple.  I don’t understand why not even an anti-discrimination bill can be passed.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  It isn’t your fault, after all.”

“That is true.”

Toriel refused to look up from her book.  Requiring her attention, Asgore took the book and pulled it slowly away, so that she would have time to tug it back if she desired.  She did not, but had a disappointed expression.  Asgore gave her a kind smile and crouched to her level.

“I love you,” he said, leaning in for a kiss.  She gave him a brief peck on the lips before as quickly as possible finding her place in her reading once again.

 _She must just be in a bad mood.  She’s been in bad moods a lot more, recently, at least around me.  Perhaps I should give her some space_.

“Tori, I’m going to prepare some tea.  Do you want any?”

“No, thanks.”  
  
“Alright.  I think I’ll stay downstairs, if you need me.”

“Okay, goodbye.”

“Goodbye, dear.”

He stumbled downstairs and crashed on the couch.  It really had been a long day.  Hours of Arguing and bickering and nothing got done.  That’s just how politics and government work.  Oh well.  He was surprisingly sleepy, too, despite the relatively early hour.  So long as he could keep himself awake he had his tea to look forward to.

If he could…

If he…

He couldn’t.

\--

Sans entered Frisk’s room to find the two of them lying on their stomachs side by side, looking up at a TV screen.  Both had controllers in their hands.

“Come on, come on, so close…” Frisk muttered.

Asriel looked a little worried for a moment, but seemed to find something.  “No, no no- aha!”

“Oh no, what did you get?”

“Oh, nothing,” he said with a smirk.  “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“What does that- oh COME ON, BLUE SHELL?!?!”

Asriel laughed and laughed as Frisk’s cart was tossed up into the air by a massive blue explosion, allowing him to fly past her and through the finish line.

“Ha!” he yelled, throwing his controller down and standing up.

“Come on, you were behind me for the whole race.”

“Yeah, but not at the end.  That’s what really matters.”

“Oh, fine, Mr. Lucky OP Items In The Last Lap.”

“Really?  That’s the name you’re giving me?”

“Yeah, I think it suits you.”

Sans decided to interrupt.  “heya.  so, frisk, how does it feel to get your ass whooped in mario kart?”

Frisk put her hand on her hips and gave him a comically disgusted look.  “I did not get whooped, he just got lucky and-”

“jeez, kid, relax.”

“Yeah, I know.  Just playing with ya.”

“oh, duh.  wait... shouldn’t you be doing homework?”

“Yes.  Yes I should be.”

“then why don’t you get to it?”

“Asriel came up here with the express purpose of distracting me.  He said so himself.  And I don’t wanna disappoint him.”

“okay, then i’ll fix it.  princey, c’mere.”

Asriel approached Sans.

“closer.”

He came a little closer.

“asriel, i almost need to be able to touch you.”

He walked right up to Sans and made a point of poking him between the eyes.

“heh.  alright, that works.  since frisk can’t get work done around you, i’m gonna take you out for some dinner.  that okay?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“good.  cya, frisky.”

“Bye guys.”

And just like that, they both disappeared.  Sighing, Frisk sat down at her desk and initiated a staring contest with her math book.

She was losing.

\--

“so.  how’s your first burger at surface grillby’s?”

“Eh, not great to be honest.  Doesn’t quite taste the same.”

“i agree, i agree.  weird, huh?  how something from the past isn’t as good as you remember it.”

“Yeah, weird.”

“so princey, i’ve got a question.”

“Okay, go for it.”

“you’re not gonna know if you should tell me, but… tell me what’s going on between your mum and dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> So it's been a while. More than a week this time. You guys seem to be okay with it, so...  
> Damn this past week had been a bear for me.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, thanks for sticking with it if you're returning. You rock.  
> And extra special thanks to everyone who's been commenting. Every single one of you has been super nice and supportive and that really makes me happy, even if I don't deserve it.
> 
> Oh, and to whom it applies, good luck on your finals.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asriel talks to Sans, and finds a rather interesting magazine

“Gee, I dunno, Sans…”

“come on, kid.  you almost told me earlier, right?  throw me a bone.”

“Well… part of the reason I think I should keep it to myself is that I just don't know for sure.”

“don't know what?”

“I just… fine.  But I'm telling you because I love my parents, not to help you, okay?”

“that's fine.”

“Alright… well, Mom and Dad aren’t really… happy.”

Sans raised what would be an eyebrow and brought his bottle of ketchup to what would be his lips.

“go on…”

“Well… this is only what I think, but Mom doesn't love Dad.  I don't know why, but she just isn't the same around him.  Back when they were married, they were the cutest couple ever.  Now, Mom is just kind of cold and dismissive to him.  It’s not like she’s mean or anything, she just doesn't love him like she used to.  I think it’s because she never fully forgave him for all that stuff he did.

“Dad on the other hand is totally in love with Mom.  He loves her so much, even more than he did before maybe.  It’s sad.  Mom cares about him enough to not want to hurt him, but she doesn't love him.  They'll never remarry, even if Dad ever wants to, but they'll stay together.  Dad is just gonna keep obsessing over her and Mom will be too afraid of hurting him to tell him the truth and break up.  And he's just too in love to tell she doesn't love him back…

“And I hate seeing them this way.  To me… it sounds horrible, but I kind of want them broken up now.  They'll just both be unhappy forever if something doesn't separate them.  I know I'm their son, and I should want them to get married so we can be one big happy family again, but I know that's not gonna happen.  I've seen a few timelines where they've tried to get back together before, and it always ends up this way.  I don't think being on the surface will change that.”

“woah… that is… interesting.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“so you want me to go in and, what, declare my love for your mom so they break up?”

“Well, I dunno.  Maybe?”

Sans sighed.  “kid, i dunno if that’s in the cards. though i can’t say i’m not interested… i just don’t know if i have the right to do that.”

“Are you saying you don’t have the right to ask your crush on a date?”

“i’m saying i don’t have the right to knowingly ruin asgore’s life.”

“But it will be anyway if Mom keeps stringing him along like this!  If you talk to her, then she’ll be happy, and Dad… well, the sooner he finds out she doesn’t love him, the better.”

“i suppose you’re makin sense.  but... gee, bud.  i still don’t know.”

“Well… would it help if I told you she likes you?”

“does she?”

“I think so.”

Sans let his eyes fall to the counter.

“then maybe i’m why she doesn’t love asgore.  maybe with me out of the picture, they’ll be like they were all those years ago.”

“Sans… I doubt you’re right.  You might be, but I don’t think so.  But why are you so reluctant?  I’m basically telling you the woman you love has feelings for you too and you can live happily ever after with her and you’re refusing to accept it.”

“it’s not gonna happen, kiddo.  something will go wrong.  something always does.”

“Alright… Sans, I’m gonna tell you something that Frisk has said to me countless times, okay?  It’s taken a while, but I think I’m finally starting to accept it.  You ready?”

“yeah.”

“Just let yourself be happy!  Don’t assume bad things will happen, and don’t assume there’s no point in trying.  Because good things might happen!  And don’t think you don’t deserve happiness, because you do!  And you _can_ be happy!  Okay?”

There was a long silence.  Uncomfortable and impatient, Asriel started tapping his dulled claws on the counter.  After some time, Sans closed his eyes, stood, and turned toward the door.

“there is no point.  you know that.”

He walked to the exit with his head low and his hands in his pockets, as was so often the case.  Watching the doors close, Asriel realized his ride home just left.

“Wait, Sans!” he cried, sprinting out the exit.  But the skeleton was already gone.  Oh well, it wasn’t too far a walk.  He wouldn’t mind one.  It’s give him some time to think, about Sans and about his parents and about other things.  Despite Sans’s downtrodden outlook and sudden departure, Asriel was far from being upset.  In fact, he was happy that he would be walking home.  Maybe he could stop at a store along the way and pick something up for Frisk.

Wait, why would he?  It’s not like it was her birthday or anything.  He had no reason to, other than that he wanted to.  That he wanted to maybe get her some candy, and watch her face light up in pleasant surprise as he hands it to her… to watch her look up at him, smiling, maybe a little bit of chocolate on her lip...

Yeah.  He’d do that.  Why not, right?

The answer came in the form of thunder rumbling in the sky above and rain beginning to fall.  Holding his hand above his eyes to shield them from the falling water, he sped into a jog.  There was a store just up the road, he could get something and call Undyne to have her pick him up from there.

He wondered if Undyne ever got tired of being the only person in their little group who could drive.  Alphys was too busy to take the time to learn, Sans never had the need, and Asgore and Toriel simply couldn't figure it out.  Cars were unheard of to monsters until the day they returned to the surface.  Papyrus could drive, and in fact had a rather nice vehicle, but was so often out meeting humans that he was hardly around to act as a chauffeur.

After a couple of minutes of jogging in the rain, Asriel stumbled into the store.  It was one of those chain pharmacies that was more a convenience store then anything else.  White walls, white floors, white lights, all rather blinding coming in from the gray of the storm.  His fur soaked and dripping, he pulled his phone out now that it was safe from the rain.  He scrolled down to Undyne’s name in his contacts.  All the way at the bottom.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Undyne.”

“Oh, what’s up, Az?”

“Can you do me a favor?”

“Right now?”

“Yeah, I kinda need help.”  
  
“Well, I’m kinda in the middle of a movie here.”

“Oh, what are you watching?”

“ _Spirited Away_ \- it’s this really cool anime movie about-”

“Oh, yeah.  Frisk told me about that.  Don’t say anything though, I haven’t seen it yet.”

“Aright.  Listen, Alphys is waiting, and I kinda wanna go back to that.  Are you okay calling someone else?”

“Uhh, maybe.  It’s fine.  I can figure something out.”

“Are you sure?  Your Dad’ll kill me if something bad happens cause I didn’t help you out.”

“Yeah, it’s fine.  I just need a ride; I can call Papyrus and hope he’s home.”

“Oh, sorry Asriel, but he’s not.  The movie can wait, I’ll be there soon.”

“No, I can walk.  If you wanna watch your movie, watch.  It’s okay.”

“Asriel Dreemurr, it is pouring out.  Now you tell me where you are so I can pick you up right now, or I will find out myself.  And if I have to do that, it won’t be pretty.”

“Uh, sorry.  Okay.  You know that pharmacy a few streets down from your place?  The one with the shingles vaccine ad that they never change?”

“Yeah, what are you doing there?”

“Sans.”

“Pfft.  Of course.  Well just hold on a minute, Asriel.  I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay.  Sorry aga-”

But she already hung up.

Oh well.  He could start looking for his little gift.  The candy aisle was somewhat crowded for a pharmacy, in that there were two people in it.  No matter.  He managed to weed his way into its center without issue, before him a respectable variety of sweets at a severe markup in comparison to those one would buy an a normal grocery store.

What to pick, what to pick.  He did not consider milk chocolates too long.  Frisk had always been a fan of dark chocolate that was just a touch less sweet and a touch more bitter.    Lindt was reliable.  The incredible little balls of chocolate in their blue wrappers…

Frisk always loved those.  Just like… just like….

No.  Bad thought.

He grabbed a five dollar bag of truffles and stood in line.  Standing about, minding his own business.  Looking for a distraction.  He found one, causing a frown to crawl across his face.  One of the tabloids at the register had poor quality photos of a number of familiar faces on the cover.   _“SCANDAL!”_ it read in massive yellow letters.  Everyone was frowning in the pictures.  His Dad… Undyne… Frisk… himself….  He didn’t recall having his picture taken.

When he got far enough in the line, he picked up the magazine.  He was fully aware that doing so was like falling for bait on the internet, but he didn’t care.  He had to know what this scandal was.  As he read, he stood aside in line, allowing a few others to pay before him.  This was something that needed to be read.  The Royal Family had to be aware of what people were saying about them.

\--

_SCANDAL!_

_Anonymous reporters told us earlier this week an incredible story about the so-called Royal Family of Monsters.  Their story contained shocking details about Frisk, the adopted human daughter of the family, and the truth behind her living with monsters.  According to these reports, she may not be adopted at all.  She was kidnapped._

_It is well known by now that King Asgore Dreamer has one biological child, Asriel.  We’ve been told that before the barrier was destroyed, Asriel somehow managed to make it to the surface himself.  He was always alone in the Underground.  He never had any friends or brothers or sisters.  And only a child!  Who wouldn’t be desperate for love and attention, especially with parents as careless as his?_

_These reporters gave their expert statement that Asriel used his powers to threaten and kidnap a young human girl who would be forced to be his sister, giving her the name of Frisk and taking her back underground.  There she lived in captivity, brainwashed into believing monsters were good and the Royal Family was a group of saviors for her.  They turned her against her own race, so she happily disclosed human secrets to the monster military led by a monster named Undyne._

_Is this a part of a bigger plot to take over the surface?  Do they want to kill, capture, or enslave humanity?  Or was this a misguided effort to make amends with humanity?  One that stemmed from child neglect and twisted views of how to make friends?  Check in each issue for more updates as this unfolds._

\--

Asriel nearly threw the magazine down in disgust.  Lies.  Everything about this story was false.  And it’s published in some sort of periodical- how could they-?

His thoughts were interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.

“Excuse me?  Are you in line?”

A kind looking human child, about his age, with similar chocolates in his hands.

“Oh… yeah, kinda, but you can go ahead.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m waiting for a ride anyway.”

“Thank you.”

Luckily, there appeared to be no one behind the child, so Asriel could check out right after the human’s small purchase.  As he left, the human gave Asriel a small smile.  How nice.

The checkout lady was an older human with hair that might have been orange at one point, but was now obviously dyed.  She scanned the chocolates but paused at the magazine, which Asriel didn’t even realize he had placed on the counter.

“Oh this?” she said, “I don’t know why you’re reading this.  It’s garbage, if you ask me.”

Asriel shifted a bit.  “I know, but I want to bring this home to show my family what people are saying about us.”

“Wait a minute…”  She looked at the magazine, then at Asriel, then at the magazine, then again at Asriel.  “Is this-” she pointed to his picture on the cover- “you?”

Asriel blushed a little.  “Yeah, that's me.”

“You're Asriel Dreemurr?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, I'm sorry I didn't recognize you sooner.  Gosh, I am speaking to… well, royalty!”

“It’s no big deal, really.  If you could just complete the transaction, though, that’d be great.”

“Oh, no, don't worry about it.  Take the magazine free.  If it helps you guys deal with all this, it’s worth it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and the chocolate too.  My treat.”

“The manager won't get mad at you?”

“I _am_ the manager.”

“Oh.  Well, golly, thanks!”

“You're very welcome, young man.  Take care, now!”

“Goodbye!”

He left the store in a better mood than when he had entered, despite the magazine’s contents.  He was given a bag to protect the paper from the rain, but it turned out unnecessary.  It was one of those storms that disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, dropping massive amounts of water in no time at all.  He really could walk home at this point, but Undyne was sitting in the parking lot already.  He didn't want to have bothered her for nothing.

“Come on, Asriel!  My girlfriend is waiting!”

“Sorry, Undyne, I'm coming, I'm coming…”

He hopped in the passenger seat and fiddled with the bag for a moment.

“Whatcha got in there,” asked Undyne.

“Oh, some chocolate, and, uh…”  He took the magazine out of the bag and dropped it in Undyne’s lap.

“What the hell is this?”

“Read it.”

Asriel watched her countenance form an angry snarl as she mouthed the words of the story.  At a couple of points she stopped, close her eyes, and took a deep breath.  Probably to avoid throwing it at the windshield.  It didn't work.

“Bullshit, bullshit, BULLSHIT!  What the fuck, really, WHAT. THE. FUCK?”

“Calm down, please?”

“THESE ARE LIES.  LIES!  FUCKING BULLSHIT WRITTEN BY SOME CLUELESS BITCH-”

“Undyne!  You’re supposed to watch your language around me and Frisk, remember?”

She took a deep breath.  Silence filled the car as she slowly regained her composure.

“I'm sorry, Asriel.  I'm just a little upset.”

“Yeah, _a little._ ”

“Okay, very upset, but they can't just say that stuff!  We need to show Asgore this!”

“That's why I got it.  Everyone needs to know that this is the kind of thing being published about us.”

“Yeah, you're right.  People have said bad things about us a ton already, but at least the _facts_ have been mostly true so far, or at least close.  Here they have an ‘expert statement.’  What the hell does that even mean?”

“I think-”

“It’s meaningless.”

“Yeah.”

Undyne threw the car into reverse and backed out of the parking lot.  The vehicle’s movements on the actual road nearly made Asriel sick.  The driver had a habit of driving very aggressively when upset.  The child began to regret showing the lies to Undyne when he did, rather than later after she was done piloting a motor vehicle.

Several minutes later, the car skidded to a stop in the Dreemurrs’ driveway.  Wordlessly, Undyne stomped into the house, mighty door slams in her wake.  Asriel remained seated with the chocolates in his hand.  Simply being around Undyne was exhausting, so he’d need to rest a while before talking to Frisk.

\--

“Can you believe this?  CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

She paced about the living room, a tired but angry Asgore sitting on the couch.  It was bad enough that he’d been woken from his slumber, worse that it was to present bad news.  Still, he tried to remain as calm as possible.  “This was bound to happen eventually,” he reasoned.

“That doesn't make it okay!”

“Nor does it make it okay for us to retaliate.”

“But we can’t just sit here and-”

“We can release a statement saying what about the article is false.”

“And they’ll want details, if they believe us at all.”

“Then perhaps it is time to tell the full story-”

“The one where Asriel gets killed and comes back to life?  The one where half the people Frisk considers family she met because we were trying to kill her?  The one where you reveal that you killed six innocent-”

“Undyne, it has to be told at some point,” he said, standing up.  Very, very few people could intimidate Undyne.  Asgore was one.  His odd blend of politeness and intimidation was off-putting, and would cause most to likely flee.  She knew him too well, though.  There was no danger.

“I think… I think this is something we need to discuss with everyone.”  she said, her voice lower in volume and pitch.

“Indeed it is,” he agreed, “But I think I've had enough arguing for the day.  It is early, but I believe I'm turning in for the night.”

“It's not _that_ early.  I mean, sun’s down.”

“Perhaps you’re right.  Still, I'll be surprised if you don't stay up for a while longer.”

“Oh, I'll be up.  I might be in bed, but I'll be up.”

At that, Asgore’s face turned immensely uncomfortable, and he hurried up the staircase to his room.  Undyne’s laughter could be be heard throughout the house, all the way through the giggling to which it deteriorated as she left the Dreemurrs’s home.

Perhaps she should have told him she was watching her movie in bed.

Among other things.

\--

He sat on his bed with the chocolates in hand.  All he had to do was go over there and hand them to her.  What was the big deal?  Why was he reluctant?  They were as close as friends get, they talked all the time, they even slept in the same bed a few times.  Why was this weird?  Why was he… nervous?

It was just a meaningless little gift.

Clutching the small blue bag, he stood, determined, and marched to Frisk’s door.  Three quick knocks.

“Hold on a sec!”

He waited.  And waited.  It felt like forever, even though it was no more than twelve seconds.  The door opened, and there she was, right in front of him.  Behind her he could see her desk, messy with various papers, and one that was a different color than the others, poorly hidden by someone in a hurry.

“Hey, Azzie, what’s up?”

“Oh, uh, hey, Frisk!  I know you've been stuck in your room this whole time, but I went to the store after Sans got me dinner, and I, uh… got you something.”

He held the bag of chocolates up for her to see.  Immediately her eyes went a bit wide, and he finally saw that smile that was the point of the whole endeavor.

“Really?  Those are for me?”

“Of course!”

“Awesome!  Thank you, Azzie!”

She took the bag and ate a chocolate, grinning more widely as she did so.  Simply watching her smile was satisfying for the Prince.

“Are you okay?” Frisk asked, looking up from her candy.

“Huh?  Yeah, why?”

“Your face is kinda red.”

“Oh…” He was blushing.  Noticeably, apparently.  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Great,” she said, before retreating to her desk, Asriel close behind her, sitting down on her bed.  He watched her dig in for a minute, eating nearly half the bag very quickly, as if she hadn’t eaten all day.  Thinking back, Asriel realized that she hadn’t, at least not that he’d noticed.  She was all bright and happy, as she so often was, but now especially.

“So,” she said after a moment, chocolate still in her mouth, “How was dinner?”

“Oh, it was okay.  Grillby’s is not the same as it used to be.”

“Yeah, I heard they hired a bunch more cooks now that monsters are looking for work on the surface.  Maybe one of them made your food.”

“Probably.  But Sans and I had a weird conversation.”

“Bout what?”

“Well, uh… I dunno if I should tell, but…”

“Your secrets are safe with me, Az.  You know that.”

“Well they're not really _my_ secrets.”

“Oh.  Well then maybe you actually shouldn't say.”

“Yeah, Sans might get upset.”

“Wait… is it that he likes Mom?”

“How did you know?”

“It’s really obvious.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and I think he’s gonna get his chance soon if you know what I mean.”

“Did she tell you something?”

“No, I just have a feeling…”

“Oh.  Alright.  Well, dinner ended with Sans kind of… leaving me there.  So I walked to the store, got you the chocolates, and Undyne picked me up from there.”

“He left you there?  What’d you do?”

“Nothing, really.  He just didn’t like where the conversation was going, I guess.  I was a little surprised he’d just leave a kid though…”

“Oh, please, you can handle yourself, and he knows it.  Besides, when was Sans ever known for his immense responsibility?”

“You’re right.”

“Oh, sorry, hold on…”

Frisk dug into the bag of chocolates and pulled another one out, holding out to Asriel.  He simply looked at it and made no movement to retrieve.

“Come on, Az. take it!”

“No, Frisk.  They’re yours.  You have it.”

“There are plenty more, and it was really nice of you to get these for me.  You get _at least_ one.”

“Oh, alright,” he surrendered with a soft smile, approaching her with his arm outstretched.  It was delicious, though Asriel preferred milk over dark chocolate.  Still smiling, he saw his expression mirrored in Frisks face.  Their eyes met for a brief moment, but darted away immediately.

Asriel decided to speak first.

“Uhm, uh… so… thanks, Frisk.”

“No problem, heh heh… thank you.”

“Yeah… same.”

He returned to the bed with his head down.

“So, Frisk,” he said, “How’s your homework?”

“Oh, I actually just finished a few minutes ago.  Been working on something else for a while now.”

“What?”

“It’s, um… it’s nothing.  Anything else exciting happen with you?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s not exactly a good thing.”  
  
“Oh no, what now?”

“I found a magazine that told a story about us.  And it was really bad.  It was a bunch of lies to make us sound horrible.  It targeted me specifically for some reason…”

“Is that what Undyne was yelling about?”

“Yeah.”

“...can I read it?”

“I think Dad has it.  You’re gonna have to wait.”

“Alright, that’s fine.  But if it’s as bad as Undyne apparently thinks it is…”

“If it’s as bad as she thinks it is, what?”

“I dunno.  I kinda wanna deal with it myself.”

Asriel’s face fell into worry.  “Deal with it yourself?  What do you mean by that?”

“Travel, talk to people, whatever I need to do to stop this sort of thing and, you know, try to bring peace.  I don’t know if you remember, but Asgore kinda made me an ambassador… so it’s something I kinda need to do.”

“Oh, no, Frisk, you… you don’t wanna deal with that.  I think he meant when you become an adult-”

“Maybe he did, but we have to act now.  All our problems aren’t just gonna wait until I’m grown up.  As a human, what I say will have a lot more pull than what you guys say, even though I’m a kid, I think.  Maybe… maybe I can help.”

“In that article, you’re presented as a victim, Frisk.  That… isn’t _entirely_ false.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So… you might wanna keep it that way.  If you act, you won’t be the victim anymore.  You’ll be the bad guy.”

“I don’t care.”

“But half the humans on the planet will hate you-”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“But it does, Frisk.  You’re… the nicest and best person I know, okay?  I don’t want anyone thinking of you that way, okay?”

“Asriel, you’re too sweet.  But I have to do something.  I’ll talk to Mom and Asgore tomorrow.  But for now… I just finished a pile of homework, so why not blow off some steam?”

“But- but… okay.  What do you wanna do?”

“Have you ever played Smash?”

“No, why?”

She gained a devious grin.  “Grab a controller, I’ll teach you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> Next couple of weeks updates will be slow. After that, though, summer vacation, so they'll be faster (I hope).  
> But hell, until then life's gonna suck. End of the year = massive amounts of work (I have >1000 questions to complete over the weekend for just one class...)
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading, as always. I know I say this every time, but it's true. You guys rock.  
> Also, any questions, ask away. I'll be sure to answer.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's take a break and spend a day at the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, there was no update last week. Don't worry, Alone No More has not been abandoned.

“Gnh… oh man…”

Asriel rubbed his eyes open, slowly lifting his head off his pillow. He was immediately met with the bright June sun in his eyes. This was it. The first day of summer vacation, finally upon them. Days, weeks, months, all without stress, all without worry. Three months of peace and quiet.

“AZZIE! WAKE UP! WE’RE GOING TO THE BEACH”

Maybe not quiet.

“Okay, Frisk, I'm up, just… a little less loud, please.”

“SORRY! I’LL BE QUIET NOW!”

He could hear her giggling through the door. Ah well. Her attempts to irritate him were as cute as they were annoying, most of the time. He slowly willed himself up and out of bed, and into his morning routine. After a shower, a tooth brushing, and a search for clothes, he met Frisk sitting on the couch in the living room watching something on the TV.

“What’cha watching?”

“Mythbusters. It’s a cool show where these two guys do crazy things trying to prove or disprove urban legends and stuff.”

“That sounds neat.”

“Yeah, but sometimes it kinda seems like an excuse to blow stuff up.”

He grinned a little.

“I don't mind that at all.”

“I didn't think you would.”

They let the show distract them for a little while, as interested in the science behind it all as they were in the explosions. After a while, though, the door burst open, and in walked Sans and Papyrus, both wearing sunglasses that were taped to their skulls. Sans was wearing a Bermuda shirt and a massive inflatable floater around his waist, one that looked like a dinosaur. Papyrus was wearing swimming trunks, a backwards ball cap, and a polo shirt.

“hey, kids,” Sans said, “i’ma just float on in here and make sure this whole thing goes swimmingly. that okay?”

“OH MY GOD, SANS, MUST YOU CONSTANTLY MAKE SUCH SILLY PUNS?”

“yes.”

“WELL… STOP IT!”

“water you saying, pap?”

“I AM SAYING THAT YOUR JOKES GET REALLY ANNOYING AFTER HEARING THEM FOR SO MANY YEARS! WHILE I HABE THE STRENGTH TO DEAL WITH THEM MYSELF, I CANNOT ALLOW YOU TO MAKE THEM AROUND THE CHILDREN, BECAUSE I AM THEIR AMAZINGLY COOL FRIEND!”

“and i'm sure they appreciate it.”

“DO YOU?” Papyrus asked, turning to Frisk and Asriel. They both nodded, slowly and unsure. “GREAT,” he continued, “THEN I SUPPOSE MY WORK HERE IS DONE! NYEH HEH HEH! GOODBYE.”

He left immediately, leaving Asriel confused.

“Did he… come in just to leave?

“nah, he’s probably just waiting in the car. someone’s gotta drive us, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. So he’s waiting for us? Let's go!”

“well now we’re waiting for-”

“Sans!” The skeleton was interrupted by Toriel, who was now walking down the stairs with her arms, outstretched.

“hey, tori, how are ya doing?” he asked, walking into her hug.

“Wonderful, Sans. Excited for the day. So, shall we set off?”

“er- don't we still need to wait for asgore?”

“Oh, he's not coming. He needs to work on his statement today.”

“is he finally releasing the full story?”

“His part of it, yes. But that may be all that is necessary for the time being.”

“so it’s… just you and me then, huh?” Sans looked down and rubbed his neck.

“And Papyrus.”

“and papyrus.”

“And the kids.”

“and the… right. okay, let's go. i think the last time i stood up this long was… never.”

With that, they all left, turning off electronics behind them, and joined Papyrus in his convertible. Toriel sat in the passenger seat, the kids and Sans in the back with Frisk in the middle. The car had its roof up, as was always the case when Toriel was in the vehicle with them.

“So,” Asriel said, “Are Alphys and Undyne coming too?”

“I am afraid they will not be joining us, my son.”

“yeah, they decided to stay in and watch movies all day since last week’s movie night got interrupted by some jerk kid.”

Sans looked over at Asriel with a wider than normal grin, eliciting the exact reaction the skeleton desired.

“Hey! That wasn't my fault you left me at the restaurant! And I didn't even want to call Undyne, there was just a storm, and-”

“relax, kid, just giving you a hard time.”

They drove around the city for a while, looking for a clothing store. They were careful to stay within its borders, though. It was like flipping a switch, crossing these borders. On one side, the Royal Family was famous. On the other, infamous. Luckily they found what they needed rather quickly, a chain clothing store that wasn't particularly busy. Asriel complained when they pulled into the parking lot, but this visit was a necessary evil. Frisk could get away with borrowing Asriel’s clothes for most occasions, but as she was a girl, swimming trunks would not suffice for this one.

It took several minutes to even find the swimwear, even with Papyrus and Toriel being tall enough to see virtually the whole store from any location. When they did, though, it was even longer that they sat there looking through bathing suits. Toriel did all the searching, as Frisk hardly cared, though she had to at least pay attention as her mother held swimsuit after swimsuit up to her torso to see if it fit and looked good. After a while, though, Sans decided to have a bit of fun.

“hey guys,” he said, “how bout this one?”

He held up a small, bright red two piece that seemed extremely revealing for children’s wear of any sort, even swimwear.

“Sans, she is a child! She cannot wear that!”

“you're right, tori. it is inappropriate, but twelve is old enough to have a crush, right?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“well, it’s understandable if someone of the same age would want to see her in this sort of thing, that’s all. what about you, princey, what do you think?”

“Uhm, I, uh, let’s, uh…”

All he could do was stammer as Sans clearly tried to hold back laughter. In the end, he never answered, as Frisk and Toriel turned their attention back to other swimsuits and Sans gave Asriel a wink and a pat on the shoulder. The child would grumble to himself for the remainder of the shopping trip.

Back in the car, Frisk found herself distracted. She was excited to go to the beach and to have fun with her family. When told that was the day’s plan, she could hardly keep herself from bouncing in anticipation. But, once officially on their way, she began to doubt that this was the best use of her time. Asgore was supposedly at home writing his version of what happened in the Underground- a story that was very intentionally kept as secret as possible this entire time. Now details would be disclosed to the public, and…

She should at least be there, right? She could add her notes or change things she’d find inaccurate or even just check for spelling issues. Sure it was the first day of summer, but she should be working!

“Hey, who’s idea was it to go to the beach today in the first place?” she asked of no one specifically.

“It was mine, my child.” Toriel responded. “Why, is there a problem?”

“Not really, just… I should probably be back home working on that thing with Asgore.”

“Worry not, Frisk. I decided it was time we all had a break from politics, and this would be a wonderful way to begin your summer vacation. Besides, you are only a child. You need not worry yourself with such pressing issues until you are older.”

“But I’m supposed to be an ambassador!”

“Yes, but not yet. Once again, you can act when you are-”

“But it can’t wait! Things are only gonna get worse for everyone if I just sit it out.”

“Perhaps you are right, but your wellbeing takes priority over everything else.”

“Over the wellbeing of all the monsters out there who can’t find work and are being discriminated against and bullied and-”

“So long as I am your mother, yes. Now please enjoy this day, Frisk. I don’t want to have to cancel it.”

The child surrendered with a frustrated huff, folding her arms. She felt a furry hand on her shoulder, and turned to find an apologetic smile on Asriel’s face one she could not help but return. Sensing the tension in the vehicle, Papyrus turned on the radio. So-called “classic hits” accompanied the rest of their travel.

\--

It was a bright, sunny, rather hot day at a crowded beach. This was the beach of a large lake, rather than an ocean; the water was clear-green and as still as public swimming water could possibly be on a busy day. Some distance away from the water, but still in the sand, there was a cluster of various little sheds and tents; bathrooms, changing rooms, first aid stations, food stands, et cetera. This area was quite near to the parking lot, so there were as many people passing through it as there were staying to grab a bite to eat or evacuate their bowels.

There was only one available changing room, so they all had to wait in line to get dressed. It was Sans in there now, who was taking an abnormally long time.

“BROTHER? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE? THERE ARE OTHERS WHO NEED TO CHANGE, YOU KNOW!”

No response.

“OH FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE…”

Papyrus waked into the changing room, returning with a fully changed Sans asleep in his arms.

“OKAY, HUMAN, YOU NEXT. THEN TINY ASGORE.”

Asriel waited patiently as Frisk changed into her new purple leotard. In due time, she walked out, giving Asriel a quick smile as she often did, gesturing for him to enter the dressing room. As she passed, though, he noticed something. The swimsuit exposed a large portion of her back, Asriel seeing her bare skin there for the first time. He took special notice because...

“Frisk, wait a minute!”

“Hmm? What's up?”

“Your back…”

“My back what?”

“It’s… covered in scars.”

“Oh,” she said looking down at her feet and angling her body so that her back was visible as little as possible. “I didn't know they were so visible…”

“Are they from the Underground? Were you really hurt that much?”

“No, no those were there before. I got them on the surface before I even knew there was the Underground..”

“What happened?”

“Not now, Az…”

“Frisk, you can tell me. Please.”

“I SAID NOT NOW!”

She didn't mean to scream it as she did. She was as shocked as everyone else, bystanders and friends alike, who all now stared at her. Damage control had to be done.

“Sorry everybody! No problems here, just go back to doing whatever you were doing!”

Most of them did, but Frisk heard a quiet sniffling. Turning back to Asriel, she found the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

_Jeez, he really is a crybaby…_

She approached him for a hug, and he met her halfway. “I'm sorry Azzie,” she said into his ear, patting his back. “I don't know what I got so mad so fast.”

“No Frisk, I understand. If it’s a sensitive topic, that's okay.”

“Thanks, Az. Now go get changed, will ya?”

“Ha ha, yeah, okay.”

While Asriel was in the changing room, Frisk was approached by a human man. Tall, heavy, middle aged, wearing a soaked white shirt, as if he put it on after swimming never bothering to dry.

“Scuse me kid,” he said, “you sure you're alright? These monsters ain't giving you any, uh, trouble, are they?”

Frisk looked confused. “What, oh, haha, no, I'm fine.”

“Ya sure? I dunno bout these guys…”

“Yeah, they're my family. Don't worry about it.”

“They’re family? What, they found you when you were lost or something?”

“Kinda. Listen, sir, I am fine. I do not need help. These monsters are not a threat to anyone. Thanks for looking out for me, but I don't need protection. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I guess, but I'm keeping an eye out, ya hear? First sign of trouble, these monsters are gonna get it.”

“First of all, there won't be trouble, and second, I don't want you causing trouble. Can you please just leave us alone?”

“What I said is what's gonna happen. It’s my moral duty to protect a little girl from danger.”

“Your moral- there is no danger! You’d just be causing trouble, not helping anyone! Especially just assuming that monster will bring trouble with theme anywhere they go and-”

“Jeez, calm down! Now, seriously, where are your real mom and dad? Time for you to go home, I'll bet they're damn worried about their daughter.”

Frisk gave him a snide look before saying, “Right over there!” and pointing at Sans, Papyrus, and Toriel, who were all talking by a food stand with snacks. The man shifted his stance a bit, uneasy.

“Well, uh… I guess I'll leave you alone now, if you insist.”

“I do. Thank you.”

He marched off, sand shifting beneath his feet. Frisk didn't take her eyes off of him with her arms folded until Asriel came back out, now ready to jump into the water.

“Hey,” she said to him, pointing at the human, “Keep your eye on that guy right there. I have a feeling he might be trouble later.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He seems a bit… overprotective of other humans. He came over here all like, ‘Oh, these monsters aren’t givin’ ya trouble, are they?’ and he refused to leave for a while.”

“Okay, I’ll be careful.”

“Yeah. Come on! Let’s get down to the water!”

“Shouldn’t we wait for everyone else?”

“Come on, Az, you’re not gonna drown in shallow water at a busy lake.”

“But that’s not the only danger. I doubt he’s the only human here who’s not very friendly to monsters.”

“Asriel, there are a ton of monsters here. There hasn’t been a problem yet, and there isn’t gonna be just cause it’s us, okay?”

“Gee, I dunno about that, Frisk…”

“You’ll be fine!” Frisk grabbed Asriel by the wrist and, at nearly a sprint, pulled him down the beach toward the teal-green water. Noticing this, Toriel shook her head. Gesturing to her hurried children, she said to Sans and Papyrus, “It seems they are quite restless. We have been standing here and talking a while, might we join them down in the water?”

Sans shrugged. “sure tori, whatever you say.”

“GREAT!” Papyrus yelled, bouncing a bit. “NOW SEEMS LIKE THE PERFECT TIME FOR SOME FUN IN THE SUN!” The yelling attracted a bit of attention from humans and monsters alike, but seeing that it was Papyrus, they ignored further intrusive behavior. Nearly the whole town knew him at that point, so nearly everyone knew that attempts to deter said behavior would be pointless. Because of this, he was able to bound toward the water, jumping over people tanning, sandcastles, and other obstructions, without complaint that he was disturbing anyone.

Somehow he made it neck-deep before the kids were able to get their toes wet. As soon as they were in range, he began a furious series of splash attacks. One arm for Frisk, one arm for Asriel, one mind determined to defeat them once and for all. After a moment of recovery, the children retaliated, one on either side of Papyrus giving him no window to escape. He was struck by blow after blow, until he finally fell, defeated, plunging into the depths of the lake.

Weary from the long battle, Papyrus remained underwater for a while. As a skeleton, he had no need for oxygen, and could sit down there for as long as he wanted. Meanwhile, Frisk and Asriel couldn't stop giggling. They had taken to splashing each other. Water flew in every direction for a while, until finally a wall of water approached them both that could not have possibly made by nature. There was merely a fraction of a second between when they realized their fate, and when they were knocked underwater by the massive attack. Standing proudly, the attack’s source spoke to the children once they resurfaced.

“That ought to teach you not to run into the water without my supervision.”

Asriel was beaming. His mom was awesome.

“EVERYONE, LOOK!”

Papyrus had come up and was pointing into the distance. Deeper in the lake, they saw a high diving board on a floating platform, and atop it, the silhouette of a short, plump figure in a floater. Several onlookers were utterly engaged as he lifted his skeletal arms out in front of him with a serious look on his face. Finally he dived.

Or fell. Fell is the better word.

The figure slowly fell forward, stance unchanging, and fell into the water with a mighty splash. Crowds gave mixed reviews, some cheering, others ‘aw’ing in disappointment.

Hours passed, everyone having a blast without issue. Splash fights, games of catch, and plenty of just swimming around. Despite all the things that were gnawing sth their minds, all the things that would make better use of their time, their day was little other than smiles and laughter.

Frisk was swimming about underwater near the diving board, when something caught her eye (the lake water was clean and clear enough for her to swim with her eyes open). A dark mass at the bottom of the lake. Curious, she swam down, until finally, she could determine what it was.

Apparently he had simply fallen asleep at the bottom of the lake after his dive.

Frisk surfaced for air before going back down and poking Sans repeatedly. Then she did again. And again. Then Asriel joined her. Then Toriel did. Then Papyrus just sat on the lake’s floor and shook Sans as much as he could. It took nearly half an hour of this to wake him up so they could go home. On the swim/walk back to the beach, he was thoroughly scolded by his brother.

Still a good distance from the sand, they turned to the diving board again. People seemed to gather as another person took their place at its top.

“Hey, Frisk, isn't that the guy you said gave you trouble?” asked Asriel.

“Yeah,” Frisk responded, “I think so.”

“wait, that guy caused problems?” Sans was concerned.

“Not really, it’s no big deal. He was really just kind of annoying.”

Sans elbowed Frisk to get her attention, then winked. His left eye glowed blue faintly, and he seemed to focus on that man. A moment went by, and the human man jumped. Sans flicked his finger, and not even a quarter of the way down, the man was launched back up to the diving board. The crowd laughed. He jumped again. He returned again. The crowd laughed more. Frustrated and confused, the man leaped forward with all his strength, and was brought to the water with greater speed than could possibly have been the product of gravity.

When he resurfaced, everyone laughed at his puzzled and almost angry expression, but none with the same satisfaction as Frisk. Sans had earned himself a high-five.

At last they were back on the beach, Frisk and Asriel standing around, preferring the slow air dry over towels. The others were all working on packing their vehicle. After several minutes, Asriel said, almost proudly, “Well, I'm ready to go.”

“You're all dry already?” Frisk wondered. Beads of water still clung to her skin in several places.

“Yeah!”

“How? I mean, I'm not dry yet, and I don't have any fur…”

She went to touch him to see if he really was dry. Surprisingly, he was, and even more surprisingly, he was hot. Burning, almost. Instinctively, she retracted her arm in an instant.

“Asriel, what the- why are you hot?”

“Oh, it’s a variation of fire magic, I guess. It’s how I dry myself quickly with all the fur. I mean, it’s really uncomfortable, but only for a short while.”

“Huh. That's really cool. I wish I could do magic.”

“It is fun. You know, there were magic humans- wizards and stuff- long ago, but I dunno if you can learn that sort of thing now.”

“Wait, are you saying it’s actually possible?”

“I don't know.”

“Well, how do we find out? I guess we could talk to Alphys or something…. Wow, Az, I don't know why, but I really want to learn magic stuff all of a sudden. I wonder what my powers would be…”

“Oh, please, with all that determination of yours, you've got plenty of powers.”

“...shut up.”

“Hee hee, I'm only teasing, Frisk.”

“I know.”

She still punched him in the shoulder.

\--

Everyone was tired after the day at the beach. By the time they got home, the sun was just beginning to set, and everyone crashed in the Dreemurrs’ living room. Toriel and Sans sat on opposite ends of the couch, exchanging jokes with wide smiles dominating their faces. Papyrus and Undyne sat in chairs nearby, arguing about something, while Alphys sat on the floor in front of Undyne’s chair, half paying attention.

Near the side of the room was a small table that looked more the part of a nightstand than a piece in a living room. It existed in the living room nonetheless, and at its base both children lay, leaning against each other as well as the table, listening to the music. There was an old FM radio on top, one that always sounded a bit fuzzy, and one that never changed its station. It was stuck on one station that played “classic hits”; pop and rock from roughly three or four decades prior. No one minded. For the monsters, it was as new to them as was music released last month, and Frisk simply liked that sort of music. The songs were always different, but one thing remained consistent: Every day at 7:00 PM, David Bowie’s Space Oddity would play. It was a small little thing they all always noticed. And it became an unspoken rule that when it played, no one was to speak. They’d all just shut right up and enjoy the music.

That night became like many more to come. Every time they exhausted themselves on a summer day, they’d come home, assume their positions, and do all this every time. Toriel and Sans joking on the Couch. Papyrus and Undyne arguing. Alphys quiet. Frisk and Asriel close under the radio, having a quiet conversation. Until everyone quieted down for Space Oddity.

Those nights were wonderful.

\--

There was a knock on Frisk’s door. With every ounce of determination she had, she was able to get one eye half open. Reaching for a lamp, her hand found her phone instead, accidentally knocking it off of her headboard and onto her face. If she wasn’t awake before, she was now. Why was the little button on the phone’s side so hard to see in the dark? When the screen illuminated, she found what she was looking for. It was 11:36 PM, a little later than she was used to being up. Oh well. This was probably just Toriel checking up on her or something.

“Hello? Er, come in.”

Arm raised in protection expecting the light that would come through the open door to be blinding, Frisk was surprised to find it largely obstructed by Asgore’s massive frame.

“Um, Frisk? I’m sorry to bother you so late, but I cannot bear to wait. Could you come look at something please?”

Blinking hard, she said, “Oh, yeah, sure I guess. It it gonna be a while?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Alright. Well, we can sleep in tomorrow. It is summer, after all.”

“Well, Frisk, perhaps not. This is what we need to discuss.”

\--

 

Asgore was almost bouncing in anticipation of Frisk’s response. He stood behind her, eyes fixed on her expression as she was hunched over his desk reading the document he’d been working on all day.

“What I would like to do,” he said, “is call a press conference tomorrow morning. We’re allowed to do that, right? And I plan to present this story in the form of a speech for everyone to hear. Do you think that’ll work?”

“Well, I don’t know how comfortable you are with that sort of thing, so I can’t really answer that question…”

“But what do you think of the speech itself? Is it… good?”

“Yeah, it’s good. You did a really good job of telling people that you kinda killed a few humans but didn’t like it. It says it in a way that doesn’t make you seem like the bad guy, and trust me, they’re gonna try to see you as the bad guy. But it’s missing a bit of crucial information.”

“Like what?”

“Well… this might sound… conceited, but there isn’t much about me in this story. I’m the human kid, so they’re gonna wanna have more details about what I did.”

“Do you want to add anything?”

“Well… there are a lot of things that are really important that I don’t think I should tell everyone… even some things I shouldn't tell you.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Tell you what… we’ll work on this tomorrow, and we can do the press conference the day after, is that okay?”

“Yes, Frisk, that is fine. Sorry to have woken you.”

“Nah, I don’t mind. I am kinda flattered, though.”

“Why?”

“Well, you’re kinda treating me like a colleague.”

“Yes, I suppose. You are to be Ambassador, after all. How is that flattering?”

“It’s flattering because I’m twelve, and you’re treating me like an adult.”

“That is because, Frisk, you have proven yourself a very mature, intelligent, well-spoken individual, despite your age.”

She smiled a bit, trying to hide it. “Daww, you don’t mean that.”

“Of course I do,” he assured, placing a massive hand on her shoulder. “No go back to bed. Tori will have my head if she finds out I bothered you this late.”

Still smiling, she got up to leave. Little did she know Toriel was indeed waiting on the other side of the door, her glare of death prepared ahead of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> So, as I said before, there was no update last week. Sorry. I had two projects, one looooong essay, an absolutely ridiculous additional assignment, and like a billion performances in band over the past two weeks, in addition to normal homework and... you know... finals. Finals are a thing too. But worry not, Monday is my last day (YES THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL IS A MONDAY AND I'M FURIOUS), and I should be updating a lot more frequently (more than once a week, I mean) because summer.  
> And also don't worry 'cause we're getting into a real story arc right around next chapter.  
> Thanks for reading, thanks for the support, you all rock.
> 
> P.S. If you haven't yet seen Make Happy on Netflix, do it. Bo Burnham is brilliant (in my opinion).


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of humans and monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The italicized text is largely skippable, as it is mostly Undertale's canon story.  
> That being said, you might not want to skip it, as it does contain some realatively important headcanon and, to be blunt, it makes up roughly half the chapter.
> 
> Oh well, enjoy.

It didn't matter that they had no official position in the human world.  Technically, Asgore was unemployed, Toriel was just a teacher, and Frisk a child without legal guardians, but they had massive pull on the media nonetheless.  Because realistically they were all a lot more than that.  All they needed to do was ask, and within two hours, dozens of reporters and crew were standing on the lawn of the Dreemurr household, each with cameras and microphones, all waiting to air the speech live to their various networks, some national.  Frisk watched it all from her window, for a while.  She was eventually distracted by a beautiful sunset.  It wasn't long after the sun began to go down before Asgore finally came out, in formal wear with a serious, almost intimidating expression.  Wordlessly, he stood on a sort of podium that had been quickly constructed, and watched as one by one, the cameras went live, the world falling eerily silent.  He noticed Sans sitting on his porch across the street, merely observing.

After a moment of internal panic, he found his composure and began to speak.

“Ladies and gentleman, humans and monsters, thank you for tuning in and listening to what I have to say.  I believe there has been some confusion regarding, for lack of a better phrase, the story of us monsters, and I would like to make clear what is fact and what is not.  So, today, I will be presenting you the full story of the monsters in the Underground, and how we came to break the barrier and come up to the surface.  I will also have you know that this was written by myself as well as Frisk, the human child now under our care, and contains the experiences of us both.”

\--

_ Years and years ago, monsters and humans lived together on the surface in peace.  There came a time, however, when the humans decided it was necessary to drive the monsters away.  To understand why, one must first understand the soul. _

_ Everyone has a soul.  Everyone's soul has traits that reflect its owner’s personality and strengths.  Souls exist in a state that is both physical and magic, and neither at the same time, though it is known that humans often cannot see them unless they have been exposed to magic.  Souls can exist outside of the body of the owner, though they are extremely fragile and extremely personal, so they are not removed unless absolutely necessary. _

_ Human souls are significantly more powerful than monster souls.  Because of this, they can survive after their host is killed, carrying with them a partial conscience of the host.  Monster souls turn to dust with their host when the host is killed, for the most part.  It is possible for monsters to absorb the souls, and become incredibly powerful. _

_ This is why the humans attacked us.  They feared that eventually a monster would kill a human, take its soul, and use it to wreak havoc upon the land.  Perhaps it was a reasonable fear, but its reaction was far too extreme.  Many monsters were killed, and we were all forced into dark, wet caves, with no hope of escape.  Families were destroyed.  Children were separated from their parents, homes and other possessions were lost, and those who survived found themselves forever scarred. _

_ We made the best of life in the Underground, but I believe no one found true happiness.  A disease we now identify as depression became widespread.  Couples didn’t bother to marry or have children.  Some just remained in their homes for the rest of their days.  It took time, but things did improve- we found ways to produce electricity, find cooking ingredients, all without sun or surface, but for generations, mere survival was a struggle. _

_ Once we finally had created a stable civilization once again, there was a small boom in general morale.  Most monsters who remembered the surface had died, and their children, few as they were, kept hope in their hearts.  Stories were passed down of the surface as this heavenly place where people could run, free, without the constraints of narrow stone walls or harsh cold or maddening darkness.  Views on humans held at a very strong neutral; most detested what they did, but understood that they were merely trying to protect themselves from what they thought was a major threat. _

_ During this boom, my now former wife and I decided to have a child.  Boss monsters like us do not age unless there is a child for our energy to transfer to, so as you can imagine this was a massive decision.  We had not only the normal fears and issues, but we also had to give up eternal life.  This, we did, and soon, our son Asriel was born. _

_ Later, when Asriel was about nine years old, the first human fell.  We were unaware there were one-way gaps in the barrier until then.  Asriel was playing outside one day as he often did, and came across a human child, about his age, injured, lying in a bed of flowers.  He brought the child back to our home.  This child was named Chara. _

_ We were not sure what to do about Chara at first, but it was clear that she and Asriel got along well immediately.  So, after a long discussion with my wife, it was decided that we would adopt the child as our own.  So we did. _

_ Four years passed, during which Chara and Asriel grew quite close.  Unfortunately, however, the human child was struck with a terrible illness, one that threatened her life.  There were no human doctors in the Underground, of course, and almost everything we knew about humans had at that point been lost to time.  Despite our best efforts, we were unable to heal Chara, and she died. _

_ Grief-stricken, angry, and frustrated, Asriel absorbed her soul.  There was little we could do to stop him; he did this without warning and in secret.  I still do not know the details of what happened after that, but I do know this: Asriel used his new power to cross the barrier with Chara’s body, and when he returned, he was horribly horribly wounded.  I believe he crossed the barrier to grant Chara’s dying wish; to see the flowers from her village, and when the humans saw him with a dead child in his arms, they attacked.  A monster with a human soul could have wiped them all out in an instant… but clearly, he didn’t.  He wouldn’t have been so hurt if he had.  Upon his return, he was cut, crying, and gasping for air.  It broke my heart to see him like this.  I left to fetch my wife immediately- she was a short walk away and an expert with healing magic- but when we returned, Asriel had already turned to dust. _

_ I could not think straight.  I could not reason.  I could not come to terms with the loss of both my children in one night.  In a fit of anger, I announced that I would kill any human that fell, and use their souls to break the barrier.  It was a decision fueled by blind rage and ignorance, one I would immediately regret.  However, damage had already been done.  My wife left me, to hide in the ruins of our former home.  And the general populace had grown to like the idea of freedom, feeling that the murder of innocent humans was justified by their wrongdoings to us.  After the incident, an anti-human sentiment spread extremely quickly. _

_ I could not disappoint my people.  As King, it was my responsibility to do for them everything in my power to fulfill their desires.  So I went ahead with my plan.  Years passed, and six more humans fell.  All of them, I found out, had killed  a few monsters in their brief time in the underground by the time they’d reached me.  In self-defence, I like to believe.  I did witness average monsters attack these humans on occasion, seeking justice.  But I stepped in and finished the job myself.  And each time it pained me.  I could never bear to look the humans in the eye.  As time accumulated, the weight of my sins grew greater and greater, and I found myself wondering if I could even reach the goal I promised I’d accomplish. _

_ After those six, there was a long time during which no humans fell.  I grew simultaneously worried and relieved that I would not have to kill another.  But then, as fate would have it, a little girl fell.  Frisk. _

_ From this point forward, the story is hers, not mine. _

_ The first person she met was my ex-wife, who attempted to convince the child not to leave her home.  Indeed, Frisk would have been safest there- but Frisk was determined to set off and find a way back to the surface.  And, as she did, she seemed to meet a large number of monsters.  From what I’d heard, this human was like nothing anyone had seen.  Most humans had been fearful, distant, and, if provoked, immensely capable of harm, but Frisk was different.  She seemed to walk around making friends and solving everyone’s problems. _

_ She developed close friendships with my ex-wife, the leader of my now-defunct Royal Guard, two skeletons, and my Royal Scientist.  All these people came to love her, and she came to love them. _

_ When the time came for me to kill her, I hesitated more than I usually did.  The other humans all had at least one violent outburst, but this one did not.  This cute little girl who reminded me of Chara more than I’d like.  Fortunately, as our ‘battle’ begun, my ex-wife as well as Frisk’s other close friends interrupted me, insisting we do not fight.  So, we didn’t.  After some silliness, we decided that Frisk would simply stay with us Underground- something that she seemed she’d rather do anyway. _

_ What happened next was odd.  A flower appeared, trapped us all, and attempted to take Frisk’s life.  We defended her, but were soon swallowed by a great light.  I was told that this was because that flower had absorbed the collected human souls as well as all the monster souls in the Underground, which is a frightening thing to behold. _

_ I was also told that this flower was also a sort of pseudo-reincarnation of my son, Asriel.  He was the product of a science experiment gone awry, soon driven mad by his lack of emotion.  Without his soul, he could not feel love or joy, and adopted a cruel, cynical view of the world. _

_ When the flower took control of all those souls, he was able to transform himself back into his true form, that of my son.  He then used his power to try to take Frisk’s life again.  However, with souls within him once more, he could feel, and Frisk took advantage of this, whittling away at his will to fight.  As time went on, he regained his capacity for love, and realized the error in his ways.  Asriel stopped attacking Frisk, crying, apologizing for all his wrongdoings.  Frisk, being the kind soul she is, forgave Asriel for everything.  Asriel used his power to destroy the barrier, then returned all the souls to their rightful places, at the cost of his own life. _

_ Days later, before we came to the surface, Frisk ran off with what remained with Asriel’s soul.  Long story short, at great risk to her own life, she was able to use part of the power of her own soul to resurrect his, bringing Asriel back as his true, kind self once and for all.  We all came up to the surface, hoping to find better lives.  Free from darkness, overpopulation, lack of resources, and all else that was problematic in the Underground. _

_ Personally, this has been an incredible journey, one that I am glad had something of a happy ending.  It is not a perfect story, I am aware.  I am guilty of horrible things.  But that is why I would like to work with humans to right all that I have wronged.  I hope sharing this story with you helps in doing that. _

\--

“I also hope that this clears up all the false rumors that have been going around.  But that is all for now.  Thank you for listening.  Are there any questions?”

Nearly every hand shot up into the air.  Overwhelmed, Asgore raised a finger and pointed it at whoever was closest.  “Yes, you in the blue?”

“Ahem, hi, I’m Katie Mattis, channel 7.  You said that humans attacked initially because they were afraid that a monster would take a human soul and become extremely powerful, potentially using that power to cause harm.  What is preventing this from happening today?”

“Uh, well, it is still technically possible, but modern humans are far better armed and protected than they were all those years ago, so even with that power a human would likely put up a strong defense.  Furthermore, monsters are now being taught that absorbing the souls of humans can have consequences, and we have a number of loyal, powerful monsters who can police those who do it anyway.”

“But say it  _ did  _ happen- and your, uh, ‘police’ didn’t know.  This monster may be incapacitated by a human with a firearm, and when you say ‘better armed and protected,’ you do mean firearms, right?”

“Well, in part, but-”

“But not all humans own guns, especially in this region.  How would non-gun-owning humans protect themselves?”

“I will not lie to you; there is little they could do.  I understand that this whole soul situation does present a large risk, but let me assure you, the odds of this happening are extremely slim.  Humans and monsters lived in harmony for generations, and there is only one recorded instance of a monster absorbing a human soul.  Another question?”

Many hands were still raised, but at least half had disappeared.

“You, in the back?”

“Hello, uh, you just admitted that you killed six innocent humans back in the Underground.  Why shouldn’t we lock you up for murder right now?”

“It is a rather important detail that all six of these humans killed monsters before I had a chance to see them.  From the perspective of monsters, it was simply justice.”

“But you were collecting souls, right?  So you were about to kill Frisk, someone who you insist had been nothing but good, to take her soul.  Is that justice?”

“I did not kill her, obviously.”

“You were going to, but you were interrupted.  That can still be considered attempted murder.”

“Well, if that is the case, it is up to local officials and police forces to arrest me.  If they decide to do so, I will comply.”

“Are you worried that you  _ will _ be arrested?”

“I doubt that will happen honestly.  Other questions?”

And they kept coming and coming.  Questions about everything were asked.  The state of monsters now, their goals, questions about Frisk and where she came from before she was in the Underground (which made Asgore realize that he had no idea), and questions regarding other, seemingly unrelated things.  It took nearly an hour to answer them all.  Some crews began to set up lights for the King, as the sun slowly hid beneath the horizon, though they were hardly needed.  It wasn’t fully dark by the time the reporters all packed up, climbed into their vans, and left, some angry, some happy, all dreading the inevitable chaos that would be their news networks and similar for days to come

\--

Asriel came downstairs to find his father pacing in the living room.

“Dad?  What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Asriel, my son, I’m just… really worried.  I think I’ve only made things worse.”

“I hate to say it, but you’re probably right.  But it was gonna happen eventually, right?  It’s not exactly your fault.”

“But I mostly wrote the speech, and I presented it, and their impression of it is really important and-”

“Dad!  You’re fine, okay?”  Asriel stepped in front of his father, stopping him in his tracks, looking up at him with wide, comforting eyes.

Asgore sighed.  “Okay.  Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“...but what if-”

“DAD!”

“Okay, okay, I’m done.  Now… your mother is out shopping, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Why don’t we have a little treat before she gets home?”   


“A treat?  Why?”

“To be honest, Asriel, because I need to distract myself.  Now go get Frisk, and I will prepare for us some ice cream.”

Asriel’s face lit up, and he immediately sprinted up the staircase to summon his friend.

He knocked on her door.  No response.

“Frisk?  Frisk, are you in there?”

Thirty seconds passed.

“Frisk?  Are you okay?”

“Uhh, yeah, Azzie, come in…”

He entered to find her looking out the window.  All the lights in her room were off, all was silent.

“Frisk, you’re acting kinda weird.  Is everything alright?”

“Uhh… I dunno.  It all just kinda got me… thinking… about… stuff.  Sorry, what do you need?”

“Oh, nothing, really.  Just letting you know that Dad’s getting us ice cream if you want it.”

She sighed.  “Yeah, I guess.  Let’s go.”

She followed Asriel downstairs.  She did not at all seem excited by the prospect of the dessert, something that disturbed Asriel.  Something else had to have been going on.  Downstairs, Asgore took flavor orders.  The children opted for the same simple thing: mint chocolate chip.  As he began to scoop, there was a loud knocking at the door.  Drawing the attention of them all.  Frisk went to investigate, while Asriel and Asgore continued making googly eyes at the sweets..

“Who’s there?” she called through the door.

More knocking.

With a frustrated sigh, she opened the door.  An angry looking woman stood before her, but only for a moment, as the woman grabbed her by the wrist and ran off, taking Frisk with her.

“Hey- what are you-?!?!”

Friisk tried to pry the woman’s hand off, but her grip was surprisingly strong.  Panic filled her.  She was being kidnapped by some stranger!  Unable to free herself, unsuccessful in trying to stop the lady’s movements, she called out for help.

“Hey, let go of me!  Let go of- HELP!!  ASGORE, ASRIEL, SOMEONE HELP!”

The woman had made it off of the Dreemurrs’ porch and lawn and onto the street by the time those called appeared at the door.  They took one look at the situation before sprinting off toward the two humans.  Asriel reached them first, grabbing Frisk’s other hand and attempting to pull her back.  At this, the woman stopped, turned to Asriel with fire in her eyes, and screamed, “I WILL NOT ALLOW A CHILD TO BE RAISED BY MURDEROUS BEASTS!!”

This stunned Asriel briefly, giving the human the opportunity to pull Frisk away from her friend with a mighty tug.  Asriel was shaken off, but Frisk fell over, causing the woman to fall over as well.  At that point, the woman was unable to move her.  She simply refused to stand, and the woman was not about to risk severely hurting her by dragging her across the pavement.

“Come on!  I am helping you!” the woman whisper-yelled to Frisk.  The child refused a response.

It was then that Asgore finally arrived.  “Hey!  I don’t know what you think you’re doing, or why you’re doing it, but you let Frisk go NOW!”

She stared at him, clearly intimidated but trying to hide it.  She did not budge.

“If you let her go, we can forget this ever happened.  If you do not, I will be forced to intervene.  I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you force me.  Understand?”

“Are you threatening me, monster?”

“Yes.  Now let my kid go!”

The woman snarled, and threw Frisk’s arm down as if it were trash, before storming off at nearly the pace she tried to steal Frisk with.  Standing, and rubbing her sore risk, Frisk watched as the lady disappeared around a street corner.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“Someone just tried to kidnap you, Frisk,” Asriel pointed out.  “And she’s really bad at it.”

“Yeah, but why?”

“I don’t know, maybe she’s just crazy?”

Asgore, still watching the street corner, decided to interject.  “She thinks she’s protecting her kind. She’s just wrong.  And yes, she may really be crazy.  It is not normal to do what she just did.”

“Kidnapping?”

“In the way she did it.  No car, she just grabbed you and ran, no plan, possibly knowing people were home to protect you…”

“Weird.”

“Yes it is.  Now, let’s go have some ice cream.  Let us calm our nerves a bit.”

They all slowly strode back into their home, shutting (and locking) the door behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> Honestly this chapter was kinda "meh," I know. Wasn't really sure where to take it.
> 
> Also, it's summer now, so I can (hopefully) get more chapters out more often. Which is good, cause this is gonna be a loooong story, if people don't abandon it (it's cool if you do, though, no pressure).
> 
> Thanks for reading, you rock.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> News.

It was rather late at night and raining.  Rumbles of thunder were quiet and distant, but present nonetheless.  Asgore sat, wall-eyed and worried, staring at the television- the only light in the room.  He watched alone, in the living room, almost entranced by what was before him.  His trance was interrupted by light footsteps coming down the staircase.  Asgore turned around to find Frisk approaching, in her pajamas.  He quickly turned back to the television, fumbled with the remote, and changed the channel.  He didn’t know to what, he simply found a random channel and went with it before addressing the child.

“Hello, Frisk! How are you?”

“Oh, I’m fine, just coming to say good night.”

“Okay.  Well, good night!”

“Good night…”

Asgore was watching Frisk intently, waiting for her to return to her room.  Noticing this odd behavior, she did exactly what he was hoping she wouldn’t.

“What’cha watching?”

“Huh?  Oh, uh….”  He glanced at the television to find it on a sitcom.  ”I’m just watching… this show.  Rather funny, don’t you think?”

“What’s it called?”

“Umm… oh, I must have forgotten.  Silly me.  Now why don’t you go up to bed?”

“Asgore, it’s  _ Seinfeld _ .  You’re watching  _ Seinfeld _ right now.”

“Ah, that’s right.  Thank you, Frisk.  That was sure to bother me.”

“Asgore, seriously, what were you watching before?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Something you don’t want me to see?”

“Well… okay, yes.  And that is why you need to go upstairs now, so I can resume.”

“Why can’t I see it?”

“Because it is for adults, Frisk.”

“Is it… R-rated or something?”

“Not exactly.  Please go to bed.”

“Then what is it?  I’m sorry, but you’ve really triggered my curiosity at this point.”

Asgore sighed.  He paused for a moment, and considered his options, while Frisk tapped her foot impatiently.

“I will tell you when I feel I must.  For the time being, I think it is best you not be concerned.  Now please, leave me be.”

“Okay, okay.  Sorry.”

“It’s okay.  Good night.”

“‘Night.”

Still thinking, Frisk climbed the stairs and entered her room.  Asriel lay on her bed, tossing a small ball and catching it repeatedly.  Huffing in frustration, Frisk walked right by him and plopped herself down in her desk chair.

“Something wrong?” the Prince inquired.

“Kinda?  Asgore was just watching something he didn’t want me to see.  It’s probably nothing, I know, but… for some reason it’s really bothering me.”

Asriel threw the ball up one final time before catching it, setting it down, and looking Frisk in the eye.

“It’s not nothing,” he said.

“You know what it was?”

“Well, not for sure, but I think I’ve figured it out,”

“Okay, what was it?”

He paused for a moment, looking to the (now closed) door, before looking back, fiddling with his hands.

“Frisk, have you… noticed any changes to what Mom and Dad watch all the time?”

“Not really.  I honestly haven’t been paying much attention.”

“Well… they used to watch the news a lot.  Like, all the time, right?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“And they haven’t been recently, right?”

“I guess not.”

“So I think they’re watching the news only when we’re not around now.”

“Okay… that’s… weird.  Why?”

“Did you notice when this change happened?”

“No.”

“After Dad gave his speech.  Since then, they’ve been keeping us from seeing the news on purpose.”

“Why would they do that?  I mean, we probably need to see it now more than ever!”

“I agree.  And I think they’d agree too.  Which is why, if they’re keeping it from us anyway, it has to be really, really bad.  They’re probably just trying to protect us.”

Asriel grew a little concerned watching the anger build up in his friend’s face.  She never stayed mad for very long… but if she felt strongly about whatever she was mad about, the brief period would be quite explosive.

“Frisk, I know how you feel about this sort of thing, but they might be right.  I mean, we’re just kids-”

“Yeah, we’re just kids, so what?  You and I both have lived a bit more than 12 and 13 years, they just don’t know it.  And since all these issues kinda revolve around us, I think we have a right to at least know what’s going on, kids or not!”

“Maybe.  I think they’re afraid that you’ll go out there and get yourself hurt or something trying to prove a point.”

“If I get hurt, I get hurt, no big deal.  Why would anyone want to hurt me anyway?  You said it yourself, they see me as a victim right now, so I can take advantage of that!  Because that means they’ll believe what I say, even if-”

“Frisk, this is exactly what I’m talking about!  I mean- look,  _ you’re right _ , but you can’t put it all on yourself to fix everyone’s problems.  Not this time.  They can handle it.  If you do get hurt or something, or even just really stressed or whatever, Mom and Dad will probably feel like it’s their fault.  The way they see it, a child should simply not be in your situation.  Period.  End of sentence.”

“I understand that, but that doesn’t mean they’re right!”

“I know, but do you at least understand that-”

“They’re doing this ‘cause they love us and all, I know.  I don’t have a problem with them trying to protect us, but… come on, they shouldn’t keep us in the dark.”

Conflicted, Asriel simply nodded and stood up.  “Yeah, well… good night.”

“Good night.  Sorry I got all… you know.”

“It’s okay.  I understand.  Well… see ya.”

“Yep…”

He left the room to return to his own, shutting the door quietly behind him.  Sighing and spinning in her chair, Frisk decided to find out exactly what it was she was being sheltered from.  Pulling out her phone, she found her way to a reputable national news site.

The front page was flooded with news about monsters.  As it was a few days prior, Asgore’s speech itself was no longer making headlines, rather its aftermath.  No longer were monsters being bullied by individuals in isolated incidents.  Now there were organized protests put up by organized groups, formed with the express purpose of sending monsters back underground.  Images of people marching outside of monster-friendly stores and what not, holding signs of crudely drawn creatures crossed out with a red slash.  People outside the homes of monsters, throwing things at it, yelling and refusing to leave.  Police refusing to disperse the crowds.

Within the cacophony of aggravating stories, one stuck out.  Not because it was particularly good or bad, rather because it was unique.  Rather than protesters and pundits, this one showed a picture of a tall, older, balding human in a nice suit and a red tie.  Frisk gave it a tap, and was brought to a video titled, “ _ Senator Jack Shueman on the Story of the Monsters” _  She looked around for her earbuds… ah, she must have left them downstairs.  No matter.  She’d just have the volume really low.

It was a professionally made video, set on a stage.  It was not a true press conference, it was not filmed during a congressional meeting, rather, it was the Senator sitting behind his desk, talking into a camera with no one else in sight, likely with a teleprompter.  He looked very confident and calm.

Frisk recalled Asgore talking about this man in the past.  She knew very little about him, but she did know that Asgore would not describe him as calm.

Volume at minimum, the child started the video and pressed the speaker to her ear.

\--

_ “Hello, everyone.  As you likely know, I am Senator Jack Shueman, and I would like to discuss the recent revelations regarding the story that the Monster King, Asgore Dreamer, recently told. _

_ “Unfortunately, this story has confirmed a number of suspicions that I and many other citizens have had.  Chiefly, that the monsters are a threat to our society.  Should a monster kill a human, that monster will become immensely powerful and virtually unstoppable.  This gives monsters incentive to attack humans, and we are powerless to stop them.  Unless we act now, eventually, this will become a monster-run world, with humans likely dead or enslaved. _

_ “Secondly, this story indicates that the King himself cannot be trusted, and should in fact be captured.  He admitted to the murder of at least six of our own, and indirectly responsible for the death of a seventh.  Can we negotiate with a murderer?  Can we trust that he will control a kingdom when he can't even control his children?  No. _

_ “By allowing monsters to live with us, by allowing them into our towns and homes, we are inviting chaos into our lives.  Asgore Dreemurr said it himself: monsters carry with them an anti-human sentiment.  For the sake of argument, let’s assume most monster really are good, kind individuals.  It will only take one who is not so kind to begin the chain reaction that will result in the breakdown of society. _

_ “For a moment, I would like to talk about the child who had been ‘adopted’ by the Royal Family of Monsters, a young girl named Frisk.  In the story, she was described as kind and caring, and loving of monsters.  I do not know how true that is, for I cannot assume anything Asgore Dreemurr says is true.  Frisk has stated herself that she adores monsterkind, though she may have been threatened to do so.  I cannot imagine how scared this girl is to be living with these beasts.  I cannot imagine how much she wants to see her parents.  I cannot imagine how much her parents want to see her.  So, Frisk, if you're watching this, you don't need to live like this.  Find a way to get the word out, and we will help you escape and find your mom and dad. _

_ “Ladies and gentlemen, it is our duty as citizens of the United States and human beings to banish these monsters once and for all.  I do not believe mass extermination is the correct approach- though, we should he ready for that if necessary, and-” _

_ \-- _

Unable to watch any more, Frisk locked her phone, gripping it so hard she feared she’d break it.  So this was him.  The ‘bad guy’.  The guy with a messed up view of monsters who was apparently really well spoken in front of a camera.

She hoped as few people would see this video as possible.  There was a view counter below it, she just didn't register the number.  Unlocking her phone, she scrolled down to see it again.   _ 13 million. _  That video had already been viewed 13 million times.   _ Deep breaths, Frisk.  Deep breaths.  Calm… calm… _

She dropped her phone and leaned back in her chair.  She wasn’t gonna sleep now.  How could she?  If a guy like that had that kind of outreach…

She opened her door slowly and crept down the stairs.  She didn't peak around the comer for fear of being noticed, rather, she sat quietly at the foot of the staircase, listening intently.  She heard the voice of a female reporter:

“ _...luckily, no one was hurt, but three monsters were killed in the incident.  Two of them have been confirmed to be former members of the now disbanded Royal Guard, a military group supposedly formed exclusively to hunt and kill humans.” _

She couldn't resist springing to her feet and screaming, “KILLED?!  PEOPLE WERE KILLED?!”

Asgore whipped around, panicking.  “Oh, err, Frisk… you shouldn't be up.”

“I know, but people are dying out there!  And you decided to keep that from me?!”

“You have to understand the situation I'm in-”

“I do understand it.  I don't understand why you're shutting out your biggest resource in this whole thing.”

“...?”

“Me!  I'm a human!  They'll listen to me!  They'll be sympathetic!  They’ll… just… please, Asgore.  Let me help.  I can… I can help.  Just… let me.”

“...Frisk, this isn't something I can just decide.  We both need to think about it for some time and discuss it with the others.”

“But-”

“Frisk… I love you.  We all do.  That is why I don’t want you doing this.”

“...I know.”

“That being said, if you really want to help… we will talk seriously about it tomorrow.  With everyone.  Is that okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Good.  Now, all this aside, it  _ really is _ bedtime, young one.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know… Night.”

“Goodnight.”

Frisk left once again, this time for good.  Asgore sat for a while, waiting for her to fall completely asleep (he could make out a quiet conversation between her and his son for several minutes after she went up), for he did not want to be interrupted.  He had to do something he didn’t exactly want to, but it was probably for the greater good of his people… right?   


Sighing, he stood and walked into the kitchen, where he left his phone.  Still clumsy with the device, he called the number that seemed to be accessed by him more than any other.  He hoped Undyne wouldn’t be too upset that he was calling so late.  She never really was a night owl…

The phone rang.  And rang.  And rang.  And no one picked up.  This issue was best resolved as soon as possible, so Asgore decided to call again.  The phone rang.  And rang.  And- finally.

“Hello?” Undyne said sleepily.

“Hello, Undyne.  Sorry to wake you, but do you have a minute to talk?”

“Ugh, Asgore, it’s like… I don’t even know.  My eyes are too blurry to see the clock.”

“I understand.  Good nigh-”

“No way, I’m awake, I don’t want to be awake for no reason.  What is it, Asgore?”

“Undyne… I have a very important request.  You’re free to deny it, but I don’t think you will.  I’m just not sure if it’s the right move…”

“Okay, what is it?”

“How would you like to resume your role as leader of the Royal Guard?”

He could hear the shuffling of blankets as Undyne got out of bed.

“Resume my- I thought you didn’t want a guard anymore?”

“I didn’t, and I still don’t but I fear the guard must be active.  Strictly for protection this time.  No unnecessary killing of humans.”

“...well, okay, I guess.  If you think you should reinstate it, I’m more than willing to be a part of it.  But won’t you get a lot of flak from-”

“Of course I will.  But people died today, Undyne.  I don’t know if you saw.”

“...yes, I did.  They were former guard, you know.  They had just gotten together, too…”

“Oh.  I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah.  Sucks, doesn’t it?”

“It does.  But monsters need protection.  I don’t intend to use the guard as anything but defense if humans decide to attack, but I’ll use it whether it’s a bar fight or a large-scale organized assault.  Either way, monsters are threatened.”

“Yep, I agree.  So… want me to start making phone calls?”

“Not tonight, but as soon as you can, yes.”

“Alright.  Consider it done.”

“Oh, and one more thing?”

“Yes?”

“I would like you personally to be in charge of protecting the kids.  The safety of Asriel and Frisk is to take priority above all else, do you understand?”

“Yeah, but… okay.  Of course I will.”

“Thank you very much.  Good night.”

“Good night, Asgore.”

\--

Everyone sat around the living room, Asgore having called an “emergency meeting” that morning.  They were all present: Asgore, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Asriel, and of course Frisk.  They’d been talking for a good while already, and were coming to something of a resolution.  Light pierced through the drawn shades, giving the room a not-quite-bright, slightly dreary aura.  The radio was off, the television was off, everyone was totally engrossed in the conversation.

“So,” Asgore said, hoping to wrap it up, “All that being discussed, what does everyone think?”

Toriel folded her arms.  “Absolutely not.  I will not jeopardize my child’s wellbeing under any circumstances, especially when it’s to solve a problem I think we adults can solve ourselves.”

“i agree with tori,” said Sans, “it isn’t a good idea.  but hey, it’s the kids decision, and if she really wants to, i’m not gonna stop her.”

“I THINK SHE SHOULD DO IT,” Papyrus softly yelled, “HUMANS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE MEAN THEM NO HARM!  AND IF WE CANNOT CONVEY THE MESSAGE, SURELY A HUMAN CAN.”  He turned to Frisk.  “HUMAN, YOU HAVE MY UTTER CONFIDENCE THAT YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL BE GREAT!! MONSTERS AND HUMANS WILL BE CLOSER THAN EVER!”

“Aw, thanks, Papyrus,” Frisk responded.

“Yeah,” Undyne agreed, “I’m with Papyrus on this.  We really need a human on our side, and there’s no one better than Frisk.  Besides, she’s pretty freaking tough.  I think she can handle this!”

“I don’t… I don’t know,” said Alphys, standing up.  “I want Frisk to… you know, have a childhood, but… I feel like this is one of those… greater- uh, greater good kind of things?  I mean… I don’t mean to sound cold, but… sacrifices may be necessary.”

“sounds like you’re leaning a bit toward ‘yes,’ alph.”

“Uh- yes, Sans, I guess… I guess I am.  Asgore?  What do you think?”

“Hmm… well, as much as I believe Frisk would help our cause greatly, I cannot in good conscience suggest she act.  She has already been through so much for this race and this family.  It would be wrong to ask her to effectively sacrifice her youth for us.”

Undyne pointed at everyone one by one, counting.  “Asgore, no, Tori, no, Sans, no… Pap, yes, me, yes, Alphy, yes.  Even split.  Three and three.”

“Um… may I say something?”  Asriel had been silent the entire conversation up to this point.  Everyone turned to him, making him a little uncomfortable.  “Uh, never mind…”

“Please, Asriel, if you have an opinion, you should share it,” his mother added.

“Well… okay… uh, Frisk, I don’t think you should go through with this.  Please don’t get mad at me, I know how much you want to do this, but… you… I…  _ look _ .  You have done so much for all of us already, and for me more than anyone.  We are all thankful, Frisk.  We’re all in your debt.  And… we all love you.  And that’s exactly why you can’t do this.  We can’t ask you to stick your neck out for us anymore.  We don’t even want your help, in a way.  I mean… of course we want your help, but not if it hurts you.  Not if it forces you to get all stressed out when you’re only a kid and risk your reputation and… if things get really, really bad, maybe even your life.  You’ve got to understand that, Frisk.  Please.”

Frisk stared into Asriel’s eyes, conflicted.  He looked worried.  Very worried.  More so than anyone else in the room.  She sighed, and turned to the group as a whole.

“Guys… I love you all too.  But… that  _ shouldn’t _ matter right now.  You can’t protect me for my own benefit if it hurts others.  I can help.  I can help a lot.  And I  _ want _ to help a lot- so if you think you simply can’t ask me for any more favors, you’d be doing me a favor by letting me help.  And I have to help.  I saw it on the news last night, people are dying out there.  In some areas, there are riots and assaults nearly every day.  Monsters who don’t do anything wrong get hurt because humans,  _ my people _ , are being unreasonable and cruel.  If  _ one person  _ needs to get hurt to prevent all these monsters from getting hurt even more, shouldn’t that one person take the pain with a smile?  This is a lot bigger than just me or even this family.  So… I’m sorry, but I still want to help.  I still want to act.  And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help as much as I can.”

Toriel looked to her adopted daughter with a stern expression.  “No.  You are my child, and you live under my roof.  As long as this is the case, you are not going to assume your role as ambassador.”

“Uhh… Tori…” Asgore said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder.  “I agree, she shouldn’t do this.  But you must respect the fact that this is really her decision.  Not yours.  Not mine.  Not anyone else’s… just Frisk’s.”

“But Asgore-”

“tori,” Sans interrupted, “he’s right.  frisk is smart and tough.  if she thinks it’s the right decision, then we should let her.  you don’t have to like it.  but you should let her.  Okay?”  He didn’t notice placing his own hand on Toriel’s other shoulder, but this, he did.

“Oh… fine.  Frisk, if you want to do this, I won’t stop you.  I would just like you to consider the ramifications deeply.  You’d be missing out on your education and-”

“Mom, I’ve already thought about it.  And yes, I want to do this.”

Toriel sighed.  “Very well.  If you will not change your mind, I will support you every step of the way.  We all will.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Of course, my child.”

Everyone sat in silence for a while.  The only sound was a light clicking caused by Sans tapping his fingers on a table.  It was only a matter of time before Undyne surrendered to impatience and boredom.  “So… what now?”

“Now,” Asgore said, “I think we should do the same for Frisk that we did for me.  Write up a speech, this time an announcement, call in some cameras, dress her in something pretty, and let the world know.”

Toriel wanted to express her concerns.  “Do you not think it is best to ease her into this, slowly, rather than just announcing the new Ambassador to the world in a night?”

“Nope,” Frisk answered, “I wanna jump right in.  No more wasting time.  And- wait, something pretty?  Ugh, does that mean we have to go clothes shopping again?”

Asgore nodded.

“WHYYYYYY????”

“because, kid,” Sans responded, “you’re not gonna go up there in a blue shirt with purple stripes.  which reminds me, why do you insist we keep buying you those?”

“I like them.  Is that a crime?”

“not sure, let me call the fashion police to check.”

“Mettaton?”

“dear god, no.  could you imagine him dragging you through a clothes store?  you’d be there for days.”

“Might be more interesting than Mom.  Uh, sorry. Mom.”

Toriel actually smiled a little.  “Oh, Frisk, I am aware I have rather… dull taste in clothing.  But, if you would like a more interesting individual to bring you, why don’t you go with Undyne?”

“Yeah!” Alphys agreed, “She’s really good at that stuff, you know.  She’s picked up a lot of my… uh… well, my clothes.  Heh heh…”

“Or,” Frisk argued, “Better idea, I don’t go at all?”

Asriel eyed Frisk deviously.  “No, Frisk I think you should go.  I think it’s gonna be long, and boring and-”

“And I think I’ll drag you with me.”

“What?  No, never mind, I take it back, you don’t have to go.”

Frisk giggled a little, bringing a smile to Asriel’s face.  Asgore and Toriel always enjoyed the banter between those two.  Luckily, it allowed the room to disperse in good spirits, despite the tense conversation beforehand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry 'bout the wait. I'll be more regular now, I promise.  
> Extra special thanks to everyone for putting up with me bitching about my own update schedule for the past few weeks. I'm insufferable, I know.  
> Thanks for reading, you rock.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing ever goes as planned, does it?

Sundown.

It was time.

“Asriel, I'm… really nervous.”

“You'll do fine!  It’s not like… never mind.”

“What?”

“Well, I was gonna say ‘it’s not like the whole world’s watching,’ but… it kind of is.”

“I know, why do you think I'm nervous?!”

“Well, Frisk, what do you want me to say?”

“I don't know.  Just, uh, tell me everything's gonna be alright?”

“Everything’s gonna be alright.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay…”

“Knock ‘em dead, darling!”

“Did… did you just quote Mettaton?”

“Yep.”

“Normally I'd attack you for something like that but right now I have other things on my mind.”

“ _ Frisk. _  You  _ will _ be  _ fine _ .  Okay?”

“But what if I mess up?  There’s a lot riding on this and-”

“Then you won't mess up.”

Asgore approached from behind them, in formal wear.  He stood directly in front of Frisk, looking down at her.  “Are you ready?” he said.

“Not at all.”

“Me neither.  Let’s go.”

Asriel gave a thumbs up that Frisk did not turn to look at, rather she kept her face forward with a stony expression as she she walked through their front door.  Cameras and reporters, much like when Asgore originally gave his speech, but more.  Whether there really  _ were _ more, or she simply saw more due to nervousness and exposure, she wasn't sure.  Either way she tried to ignore all the eyes, both real and artificial.  In attempts to appear confident, she appeared haughty, which wasn’t particularly good for her cause.  After taking her place beside the podium and Asgore taking his behind, she shut intrusive thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on the situation at hand.  He world fell silent as the King began to speak.

“Everyone, we have an important announcement to make.  We are all aware that tensions are high between humans and monsters at the moment, and we would like to do all that we can to alleviate that tension and develop living conditions beneficial to both groups alike.  For the time being, direct communications between humans and monsters seems unlikely, so we have come up with a method of cooperation until such a time when direct communication is a reality.  For the rest, I will step down and let young Frisk take the stand.”

He stepped backwards from the podium, and Frisk nervously stepped up.  Public speaking was something she never really had to do, though she never thought it’d scare her as it did that day.  It didn’t help that no one seemed happy to see her.  Every reporter had a dead serious expression, everyone seemingly worried about what would happen next.  Standing on a box previously arranged so she could see and be seen, she sighed and began to speak.

“Hello, everyone.  First off, I would like to say that I am not being held here against my will.  Many seem to think that, but I am not.  These monsters are my family.  They are good people, and, as a human, I wish to help them.  That is why we are announcing that from this point forward, I will be acting as an ambassador for the monsters to humans.”

As one could certainly predict, the reporters all piped up immediately.  Some talking to cameras, some to each other or themselves, most yelling up to Frisk with their questions and comments, none of which she could make out in the cacophony.  There were raised hands and flashes from cameras as everyone tried to get a word with the newly announced Ambassador.  Frisk started sweating and panicking, trying her best not to show it.  She opened her mouth again halfway, but the noise did not stop.  She didn’t know how to make it stop.

After nearly a minute of frantic shouting, a black van rolled up behind all the reporters and stopped on the street right in front of their house.  It was a police van for the next town over.  It didn’t have its lights on or anything, but right when it stopped, cops came out of the back with their guns raised.  “DOWN ON THE GROUND!” one shouted, causing all the reporters to scatter and drop in the dirt.  Camerapeople (for the most part) stayed standing, and the cops made no move to force them down.  In fact, it was almost as if they wanted the cameras rolling in the first place.

The police stormed the scene, all their guns pointed at Asgore, save one or two pointed at the door to the home.  “DON’T MOVE” they screamed at the King, who wore a mask of utter shock, putting his hands above his head and remaining as still as he could.  Frisk did the same, losing her mind trying to figure out what was going on and what to do.  She had gone completely pale.

One of the more muscular cops, still eyeing Asgore, approached Frisk and grabbed her by the arm.  She tried to pull away, but his grip was strong, and Frisk couldn’t get away.  She could do nothing but stumble along as he pulled her into the back of the police vehicle.  As she passed, she noticed that on the other side of the street, Sans was standing out on his porch, staring her down with jet-black eyes.  He had guns trained on him as well, though he didn’t seem at all concerned about them.  They only made eye contact for a second before she was shoved into the back of the van and strapped into a seat, followed by all the other cops.  Frisk was nearly crying when the doors shut loudly and the vehicle took off.

The cops all looked stone cold.  Emotionless.  Like soldiers at attention.  No one moved or spoke….  Once she was finally able to regain an ounce of her mind, she started to ask questions.  “Why are you doing this?”  “Where are you taking me?”  “Am I under arrest?”  “Are you guys really cops?”  No one answered anything.  They just continued staring forward as if she wasn’t even there.  Her phone was broken by the cop sitting next to her when she tried to call someone.

The trip took not quite an hour, so she thought she was going farther than just the next town over, but she was wrong.  She was simply taken to their police station.  The trip’s duration was extended by the mundane issue of traffic.

The doors of the van opened as violently and suddenly as before, and the same cop took Frisk by the arm again and marched her inside.  Once through the doors, the cop let her go, and she was greeted by a smiling young-looking man in a suit.  The cop did not leave, though.

“Why, hello, Frisk!  How are you doing?” the suited man said.

“I’m… what is going on?”

“You were just rescued by our city’s finest, little girl.  Now please follow me.”

He started toward a hallway, beckoning for her to follow, but she kept her feet planted on the spot.  The man noticed, and returned to her with a sigh.

“Look, Frisk… I know you like those monster people, but they’re not human.  They’re not like you and me, right?”

“Well, in the sense that they’re not human, I guess, but-”

“So you agree that a human shouldn’t be raised by beasts?”

“No, I don’t.  They’re my family!  You just… kidnapped me!”

“Kidnapped by cops?  That’s crazy.  We’re rescuing you from captors.  Now, are you going to cooperate with us or not?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“We’re just gonna return you to your real parents, that’s all.  Now come.”

This time, the cop grabbed Frisk’s arm again, forcing her to follow.  She was taken through corridor after corridor, rather deep into the facility, getting disdainful looks from everyone she passed.  They took her into a dark, office-type room, with bookshelves and a nice carpet and windows with the shades drawn.  There was a metal chair sitting in the center, clearly for her.  Without being prompted, she pulled her arm away from the cop and sat down.  The suited man took his place behind a desk, activating his computer and pulling glasses from his pocket.

“Well Frisk,” he said, “Lucky we got you when we did.  Looks like you were about to get wrapped up in some pretty sticky circumstances, right?”  His tone was lighthearted and friendly, indeed he was actually a rather likable person held back by apparently twisted beliefs.  “So, Frisk… now that my crappy, slow as heck computer is all ready, why don’t you tell me all about your mom and dad?”

Frisk remained silent.

“Come on, buddy, we need your help in this.  We’re on your side, remember?”

Frisk remained silent.

“Look, neither of us can go anywhere until we get through this.  I don’t wanna be here any more than you.  Couldn’t take my lunch break today, so I’m starving.  You hungry, Frisk?  I bet you are.  Why don’t you talk to us so we can go grab a bite to eat?”

Frisk remained silent.

“Okay, let’s start easy, hmm?  How about mom’s name?”

Frisk remained silent.

“Just you mom’s name, nothing else for now.  Please.”

She thought for a moment, before answering in a way she knew would get on his nerves.  “Toriel Dreemurr.”

“Heh… really, kid, you mom’s name.”

“Toriel Dreemurr.”

He got rather stern all of a sudden.  “Your  _ human mother’s _ name.”

Frisk looked down at her lap, rubbing her hand uncomfortably.  No use in beating around the bush, she supposed.  With a sigh, he told him.  “Josh and Carrie Flynt.  My parents are… Josh and Carrie Flynt.”

The man didn’t respond, he simply typed away at his keyboard for a minute.  “It says here that Josh and Carrie Flynt died six years ago.  Died because of… jeez, that ain’t pretty.”

“I know.”

“And they had one daughter, Sam… that’s not you, is it?  You look to be about the right age.”

Frisk remained silent.

“Are you Samantha Flynt?  Thirteen as of… wow, today.”

Apparently it was her birthday.  She had forgotten that date years ago.  Turns out she was a July baby.  Yes, she was indeed Sam Flynt, but she wasn’t about to admit that to the man quite yet.  “My name is Frisk.”

The man put his head his hand and sighed, eyes closed.  “Right.  Well, I’m done dealing with this.  Get her outta here.”

The cop took her by the arm once again, and again the man in the suit led the way.  This time their journey was down stairs, through locked gates, and past closed cells.  She didn’t want to pick her head up- she had been staring at her feet- but when she did, she was horrified.  Every single cell was filled, but not with humans.  Monsters, only monsters, monsters filling every cell, monsters imprisoned by this town.  She knew a few of them, and knew them not to be troublesome.  It was hard for her to keep her mouth shut.  Whether she’d cry, scream, or rant, she wasn’t sure, all she knew was that she wanted to make some sort of noise and that if she did, it’d probably end up hurting her.

Eventually they came across a single empty cell with nothing but a small bench, the cell farthest from the exit.  She was pushed into it, the bars sliding shut and locked immediately after.  The suited man spoke.  “Remember, Frisk, we’re trying to help you.  You’re not under arrest, you’re not in trouble, you haven’t done anything wrong.  That being said, you need to stay in that cell ‘till we figure out where to put you, okay?”

She didn’t say anything, but this time he didn’t wait for her to.  He simply walked away, immediately pulling some electronic device from his pocket.  Now Frisk was left alone, locked in a jail cell, without any-

“hey, kid.”

She whirled around and saw Sans sitting rather comfortably on the bench, where there had only been empty space before.  She had to remind herself never to be surprised by him, ever.

“Sans?  What- did they capture you, too?”

“nah, i got here on my own.  so... how ya doin?  want a hot dog?”

She couldn’t help but laugh at his casual, relaxed nature despite the situation.  “Uh, no thanks, I’m not that hungry.”

“alright.  suit yourself.  nice place, huh?  got a whole room to your _ cell _ f.”

“Yeah… well?  Can you get me out of here, please?  Shortcut away or something?”

“i wish.  bad idea.”

“Why?”

“pretty much the same reason asgore and i didn’t stop them from getting you in the first place.  they  _ want _ to catch monsters being meddlesome in what they call normal police activity.  it’d give them some ammo against us in the press, you know.  that’s why they allowed the cameras to stay up back there, and that’s why you shouldn’t be disappearing from cells any time soon.”

“Wait… aren’t there security cameras or something?”

He pointed up at the only camera in view, which had a Nerf gun dart adhered to its lens, completely obscuring its view.  “Brilliant,” she said, turning back to Sans.  “So… what now?”

“well, we tried to get you out on bail, but they don’t like talking to us.  and since there are no charges against you, and this isn’t technically an arrest, it probably wouldn’t work anyway.  we could try to get them for engaging in police activity outside of their jurisdiction, but… i don’t think we have much power ‘round here.  honestly, frisk… i have no idea what’s gonna happen next.”

She sighed, looking out at the other cells, and everyone in them.  They all looked so… sad.

“Hey Sans?”

“yeah, bud?”

“Why does it have to be like this?  Humans versus monsters, I mean.  Why can’t we all just be one big happy  _ people _ ?”

“because, the mind is predisposed toward prejudice from birth.  not much we can do about that.”

They stayed silent for a while.

“hey frisk…”

“Yeah?”

“you know… this whole thing has gone over real bad.  i mean… deaths and violence and stuff like that… and it’s not looking like things are getting better any time soon.  honestly, things were better in the underground.  and you know what’s happening with you right now will start a riot.  probably.  not fun.”

“Sans, what’s your point?” she asked, still looking out at the other cells.

“i’m just saying… i won’t be mad…”  He sighed.  “...if you reset.”

She turned around, surprised that he would even think of such a thing, but alas, he was gone.  Taking a deep breath, she slumped over to the bench and lay down on it, hoping to sleep.  The day had been stressful and exhausting.  She hoped to have happy thoughts lull her into the realm of dreams, and it took a while, but it did.  At long last.

\--

She awoke with a horrible pain in her neck and a splitting headache.  Never had light bothered her so much.  Squinting, she propped herself up on one arm, looking out at the door to her cell.

“HEY!!”

The shout made her jump, falling off the bench and onto the concrete floor.  Rubbing her head, and sat up to face the source of the sound.  It was a cop, a different guy than before, this one portly rather than burly and intimidating.  Still in a daze, she didn’t fully comprehend when she was told her foster dad was picking her up and she was being released.  She just kind of accepted it almost until they reached the front door to the building.  Then it hit her.  Her foster dad was picking her up.  Her… foster dad… no.  No way.  This couldn’t be happening.  But there he was, after she turned one more corner.  Standing by the door, talking to a clerk.  She approached slowly, unsure and afraid of what was coming next for her.  Her foster dad turned and, seeing her, immediately extended both arms, yelling “There’s my baby girl!” with enthusiasm.  The behavior was… odd.  Extremely odd.  So much so that Frisk didn’t accept the hug.  Instead, she kept her distance, and, not saying a word, walked right out the door, knowing he’d be close behind.

Outside again, she saw a single car parked at the end of the path.  Not one she recognized.  This one was far, far too expensive.

“Look, kid,” her foster dad said, catching up to her, “You’re probably wondering what’s going on.”

“I am.”

“Well, I ain’t your dad.  I’m a monster, but I have very specific talents.”

“You’re a shapeshifter?”

“Exactly.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“My talents… can get me into lots of places.  So I’ve created a business, you know?  Someone wants something, they pay me to get it.  I’m the best out there, so I charge a pretty hefty fee.  Lucky you… my client blew a lot of dough to get you out of there.  Paid your real foster dad to fuck off, paid me, and paid for our sweet little ride down there.”

“Who is your client?”

“You’ll meet him.  He insisted on driving.”

She approached the car a little worriedly, but rather glad she was back in the hands of monsters.  It wasn’t long before the client was in full view.  She saw him, and couldn’t help but giggling to herself.  She should have known.

“Why, hello, darling, fancy seeing you here!”

“Hi, Mettaton.”  She hopped in the passenger seat of the car, and Mettaton took off, leaving the shapeshifter behind.  At that point the shapeshifter had turned back into what was presumably his normal form: a hideous, purple blob.

“We were all really worried about you, Frisk.  Your little Asriel especially… so emotional, that boy is.”

“Yeah, I know.  Thanks for getting me out of there.”

“Of course, darling.  You’re helping our cause.  It would be self-destructive to leave you in there.  This whole thing has been a rollercoaster through hell, don’t you think?  It’s making news all over the world.  Not just last night, but all of it.  Especially your little announcement, Miss Ambassador.”

He looked over at her with a teasing smile before turning his attention back to the road.  Frisk blushed a little.  It was the first time she was referred to as ‘ambassador,’ after all.

“Anyway,” the robot continued, “It has been horrible.  Dreadful.  Disgusting.  To see the things these people say about us is just… despicable.  You know, some say that all press is good press.  Even bad things get attention and help overall.  Well, it might be true in sales, but when it comes to movements like this, well… I don’t have to tell you.  Now… do you want to go straight home, or do you want to get some food first?  I haven’t heard any good about meals in human prisons.”

“Uhh, right home would be nice.”

“Ah, very well.  Oh, one more thing…”

“Yes?”

“Last night that horrible police station told some news outlets who you are- your real name and all that.  So everyone knows, now.  I don’t know whether that was a good thing.  Didn’t say what happened to your birth parents though, just said they died.  What did happen to them?”

“I really don’t wanna talk about it.”

“A sensitive subject, I understand.  On a lighter note, do you like this car?”

“Huh?  Yeah, I guess.  It’s really fancy.”

“Of course it is.  Brand new Ford GT.  Comfortable.  Looks amazing.  Killer audio.  Goes faster than 200 miles per hour.  Rather overkill if you ask me, but rather appropriate for someone of your stature.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’re even more famous than I am, Frisk.  Everyone either loves you or hates you.  And you’re a whole new kind of ambassador, and perhaps even royalty.  So I think this would go rather well as your first car.”

“Wait, what?”

“Happy birthday, beautiful!”

“Mettaton, I… I can’t accept this!”

“Frisk, you have helped me more than I have words for.  Reminding me what it’s like to perform with others.  Breaking the barrier and introducing me to a much larger audience.  I owe you something, don’t I?”

“I can’t even drive yet!  I’m 13, not 16!”

“Well then get comfortable in that passenger’s seat.”

Frisk couldn’t help but smile looking around at the supercar’s interior.  It was her’s!

“Thanks, Mettaton.”

Now all she needed were sunglasses so she could look like a badass rolling up to her house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> First thing's first, I'm sorry, Friskriel ship. I've been cheating on you with another ship. I've been really liking 2nu recently (it's not even Undertale?!?!) and I'm actually writing a fic about that. Check it out, I guess? Most of you won't even know what it is, but the tag gets so little love...
> 
> I think I'm back in terms of getting chapters out relatively quickly. Back in the game at long last.
> 
> Josh and Carrie Flynt… stupid names, right? Be so much better with “Flynn.” That’s what I originally had, but that would mean Frisk would be Sam Flynn at birth, which is also the name of the protagonist in Tron… so I stuck a T on there. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Also, the Ford GT has always been one of my favorite cars. Sorry. I had Frisk getting a fancy car, last minute I assigned it a make and model because why not.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading. As always. You really rock.
> 
> Holy crap, it's 3:15 AM. Should I sleep? ...eh.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Story time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter doesn't really progress anything, I admit.  
> But it is a pretty massive information dump on a certain skeleton.

**Back at home, while Frisk was still in jail…**

Sans appeared on the Dreemurrs’ porch when only the remnants of sunlight hung in the sky, staring at the door as if expecting it to do something on its own.  Multiple times he lifted a bony hand to give it a knock, but for several minutes, he just returned it to his pocket instead.  But he couldn’t put it off any longer.  With a sigh, he let his hand hit the door two times, saying “knock knock” as he always did.  But the lady on the other side was in no mood for games, as he feared.  The door swung open almost violently.

“hey to _RIIIIII_ -”

As he spoke, she grabbed his arm and yanked him inside, closing and locking the door immediately behind him.

“Sans… _please,_ please tell me you have good news.”

“uhh…”

He looked around the room.  The television was off, the radio was off… everything was off.  Even all the lamps.  Asgore and Asriel were nowhere to be found, presumably in their respective rooms occupying themselves otherwise.  He then looked at the monster towering above him to find a worried, sweaty, hyperventilating mess rather than the kind face he hoped to find.

“tori... you okay?”

“Is there news or not?”

“well... not really.  frisk’s okay though.  but she’s gonna have to spend the night.”

“Oh… oh damn…”

“language, tori.”

She turned around without responding to him, putting her hand on her forehead.  Still breathing quickly, she began to stumble away from the door.

“tori?”

She didn’t respond.

“toriel, are you okay?  really…”

She still didn’t respond.  Sighing once again, Sans stepped forward and spun her around by her shoulder.

“TORIEL!  listen to me… you need to calm down, okay?”

“Calm down?  Sans, my child was just kidnapped and you want me to calm down?”

“yes, i do.  tori, you’re acting kinda crazy-”

“You don’t understand…”

“what do you mean?”

“You… don’t know what it’s like to be in my position.  My kid has been taken from me and I do not know if I’ll ever see her again.  She may be injured, or, or…”

“tori, i just saw her, she’s fine-”

“But what about tomorrow?  Or next week?  Or next month?  This is exactly why I was against this whole thing, Sans, I cannot put her in danger anymore.”

“tori-”

“I CAN’T LOSE ANOTHER ONE!  I… I can’t lose… Sans… you do not understand.”

“...actually, i do.”

He took her hand and pulled her to the couch, where they both sat looking more to the floor than to each other.

“hey tori… do you wanna know something that no one but papyrus knows?”

“I… I do not know…”

“well, i kinda wanna tell you… it’s something you should know, anyway.  specially since… i dunno… well… oh gee, this is, uh…”

“Sans… are you sure you’re comfortable talking to me about whatever this is?”

“yeah, yeah i am.  when i say i understand your pain, i really do.  frisk is my kid too, you know.  maybe not officially but… you know.  but that’s not what i’m getting at.  a long time ago… ah, shit.  this probably isn’t the best time to give you my life story.”

By now Toriel had completely calmed down, more concerned for Sans than anything else at the moment.  He did look uncomfortable.  It was as if whatever he was keeping from her was bothering him on a very deep level.  She could do nothing to help Frisk, so why not help the man sitting with her on the couch?  Scooting closer to him, she said, “Sans… no, it is not the best time, but… why don’t you tell me anyway?”

“toriel... there’s an awful lot i’ve been keeping from you.  i don’t know how you’ll feel about me after this.  you’ll feel sorry for me, but… you might also hate me.”

“Oh, there is _nothing_ you can tell me you’ve done that would make me hate you.”

“oh, i don’t know about that.”  He sighed.  “do you know who i am?”

  
“I think so…”

“no.  you don’t.  i’m... i’m not a sentry, i’m not a hot dog salesman, i’m none of that crap.  really, i’m… well, i’m a moderator.”

“What does that mean?”

“it means my job is to keep an eye on everyone and make sure nothing gets too out of hand.  like... if someone goes crazy and threatens the lives of a ton of people, it’s my job to stop them.”

“So you’re like a cop?  I don’t see how that’s-”

“no, not like a cop.  the problems i deal with… are much, _much_ bigger than the ones cops deal with.  like... jesus, how do i explain this?”

_i don’t wanna reveal too much, but i still want her to understand…_

“let’s just say i act when there’s risk of permanent damage to the lives of everyone.”

“What?”

“like, uh… never mind.  i’m a moderator and i have special powers and crap like that to help me do my job.  have you noticed… that i can just _get around_ super easily?  that i have shortcuts everywhere?”

“Yeah, that is rather peculiar.”

“welp, i can teleport.  and i can do a whole lot more, too.”

There was a moment of silence.  “Sans, why did you keep this from me?”

“i don’t exactly advertise it.  obviously, my kind of job is one better kept discreet.  ya get it?  no one knows this… just you and me and papyrus and the kids.  alphys has some of the pieces of the puzzle, but not all of them.”

“Why do the kids know?”

“long story that i really can’t tell you.”

“And why would I hate you?”

“because i’ve been keeping this secret my entire life.  and the things i’ve done… things i’ve been _forced_ to do… you wouldn’t like.”

“...Sans, what exactly have you done?”

He hesitated.

“Have you… killed someone?”

“uh, yeah.  not just one though.  i’ve killed lots and lots of times…”

“Oh…”

“yeah, there it is.  but i have never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it.  like… not even gray area, if you know what i mean.  i’ve only killed those who 100% definitely by anyone’s reckoning and morals should have been killed.  and it still eats me up inside… but that’s, uh, not exactly my point.  the reason i’m telling you who i am and what i do is… i want to tell you how i became who i am, so you can understand that _i_ understand what you’re going through.”

“...okay.”

Sans sighed.  “Well…”

\--

_a long time ago, i was a pretty ambitious kid.  not anymore, huh?  well... when i was a teenager and pap was a little kid, i used to work with my dad.  see, he was a scientist, and i liked to tag along and watch him do his thing.  i loved the guy so much- my dad was cool.  he’d do things for the king and all… wait, you might have known him.  is the name gaster familiar?  anyway, he’d also have these little pet experiments on the side, and those were always a lot more interesting than the ones he was assigned to do.  looking back, i’d almost call him a mad scientist type.  didn’t matter to me.  i loved science, loved helping him do his thing, and apparently i was pretty good at it too.  one day he figured something out, i don’t really remember what it was, but it drove him insane.  long story short, he thought he’d found a way to bring mom back._

_mom was cool, too.  i don’t really remember much of her, she died right after papyrus was born.  but i remember she was smart, like dad, but she was always a little uneasy with some of his experimental stuff.  they still loved each other a lot… too much, really.  they were always getting super cutesy in public.  when she died it was a surprise to everyone.  no one knows why, to this day.  she just turned to dust._

_course, i was pretty upset.  dad did his best to look strong.  i never saw him cry, but i know he did.  just didn’t want me to see.  for a while he got super wrapped up in his work, not paying much attention to me, but it was just like old times between me and him for a couple of years after that… until he thought he could bring her back.  i don’t know the details; he kept me away from this project as best he could for some reason… but long story short, he died too.  papyrus was like seven, and i was sixteen.  i know, a pretty big gap, right?  well... i was kinda destroyed.  i got super clingy around papyrus, in large part that hasn’t changed even today.  i was almost an adult, and i thought i could care for him.  so i pretty much raised him, you know?_

_years went by, my life revolved around protecting the only family i had left.  i really tried to put the whole thing with dad behind me, and i don’t know if i ever let myself properly grieve.  pap grew up and it was clear from the get-go that he was… unique.  you know him, you know what i mean.  but i loved him more than anything in the world, and i still do.  i was safe with him, he was safe with me…_

_even when he crossed into adulthood he stayed with me.  i continued supporting him on my little science teacher salary, and wouldn’t have it any other way.  but... you know what happens in life.  i met another teacher at the school, and… well… yeah.  i fell really, really in love with her.  she was smart.  really smart.  and she made worse jokes than i do.  but most importantly, she loved papyrus and papyrus loved her.  i know this sounds weird, but she was kinda like you.  maybe not as formal… anyway, she spent more and more time around our place, and well... one night, i asked her to marry me.  i still don’t know why she said yes._

_so we were happily married within a month, and she was pregnant in two.  my daughter was born in the spring- little arial.  boy, she was the cutest little thing.  so giggly and always happy.  laughed at my jokes and her mom’s.  those were the happiest years of my life, living with my wife and my daughter and my brother.  low stress, no worries.  every day was a ton of fun, like the happily ever after of a fairy tale._

_but it wasn’t a fairy tale.  one day, my little girl was playing outside in the snow with her mom, like usual.  i was inside, cooking, and yeah, she spent lots of time outside.  but she was out in the snow, looking for a friend to play with, and… welp, she found one.  a human.  you know, one of the ones that came before frisk?  a human kid with a gun.  naturally, all the adults kept their distance, but arial, you know… she was a little kid and she didn’t know any better.  so the moment she saw this kid she started running toward him, eager to make friends… and my wife, seeing impending danger, ran after arial.  from the human’s perspective, two skeletons were running straight at him, for all he knew, they were gonna hurt him.  he didn’t understand… but his reaction was extreme.  i ran outside after hearing two distinct gunshots, and of course, there he was, his smoking gun raised in the air, pointed at two piles of dust in the snow- a big one and a little one.  i did not cry.  i did not scream.  i just looked from the piles of dust to the human, and according to bystanders, that was the first time my eyes ever went all dark.  he looked terrified… but he didn’t shoot at me.  no, i think he understood that he screwed up, because he started crying and… well… i just let him leave.  i don’t know whether it was the right thing to do, but after he got himself together i just let him walk away._

_i went back inside and saw papyrus on the couch, unaware of everything that had happened.  i told him our girls weren’t gonna come back inside.  ever.  i don’t know if he understood that they’d died, but he cried.  a lot._

_all of a sudden my dad’s actions back when i was younger seemed to make a lot of sense.  he thought he could bring his wife back, but his experiments killed him.  i remembered everything he taught me.  i figured, you know, if i could dig up his old machines and research, i could finish what he started and bring them all back.  everyone.  my parents, my wife, my daughter.  but first i wanted to become strong enough to take on a human myself.  not that i wanted revenge, really… i mean, i kinda did, but… i just wanted to know i could defeat a human if i needed to.  that i could prevent something like this in the future.  i wanted to know that humans wouldn’t mean certain death for me.  so i dug through dad’s old work, mostly stuff he did before i was born, and found weird stuff.  weapons.  attacks.  crazy powers.  more than enough to destroy a single human, more than enough to destroy fifty._

_so i finished all the research and experiments he never completed, and after a while, i was really powerful myself.  that’s how i got all my abilities.  years of work.  i told papyrus what i could do, and he immediately wanted to know if i’d use my powers to become a sort of superhero.  you know, saving people, stopping robbers, everything you see superheroes do in comics and stuff- comics which he was obsessed with at the time.  and that’s why i adopted the role of moderator.  it wasn’t for some noble reason or for some organization… but just cause pap wanted me to.  and i wasn’t gonna say no to anything he wanted, not after all that he’s been through._

_but, uh… then i went to work actually trying to bring them all back.  following up on my dad’s old work, once again.  turns out, he didn’t have methods of resurrecting the dead, rather he was researching time travel.  he wanted to go back in time and stop mom from dying.  i figured, you know, why not do the same?  so i continued with his research like i did before and did not step into the same time machine he built- it is what killed him, after all.  all was going well, and i was optimistic… until i figured it out.  the problem he couldn’t solve… i solved it.  and you know what?  you can’t go back in time.  the machine killed him because he was trying to do the impossible.  and i… well, i kinda freaked out.  i dropped science for what i thought would be forever, and destroyed almost everything that remained of my dad’s stuff.  on top of that, i just… lost hope, you know?  stopped caring about anything but papyrus, just kinda… coasted through life cracking jokes on occasion._

\--

“then i met you, and i met frisk, and all this went down… and old feelings started to resurface.  i love frisk, you know.  i love her like she’s my own daughter, because she kinda reminds me of her.  arial was happy and enthusiastic all the time too, you know.  both cute, both smart… so it’s hard to keep that association out of my head.  but i was reluctant to admit it to myself.  seems that whenever i love someone, they end up dying.  everyone but papyrus, so far.  so i kept telling myself that i didn’t love frisk, but… i’m not gonna lie to myself any more.  i do.  she’s a good kid, and i don’t wanna lose her either.  and i _do_ know what you’re going through, tori.”

“Wow, Sans, I… wow.”  


“and... ah, shit… i’ve also been trying to tell myself that i don’t have feelings for you… but you must know that i do.  it’s super obvious, right?”

“Umm… Sans… I do not know how to respond.  To any of it.”

“well... that’s okay.  i’ll, uh… go home now.”

“Wait, Sans-”

He didn’t even bother standing up.  Not having to hide it from her anymore, he just teleported straight onto his own couch, thankful to find Papyrus was not in the room.  He sighed, just playing with his thumbs.  Should he have told her all that?  He was careful to leave out mentions of determination, resets, and the presence of multiple timelines, but he still might have said too much.

_oh well, too late now._

\--

Mettaton had gathered everyone in the Dreemurr’s home just before picking the child up from the police department.  Frisk’s return went more or less as expected, in that everyone was glad to see her but Toriel overreacted, embracing her in tears.  Everyone was a little more surprised that Asriel’s reaction was even more extreme than Toriel’s.  He hugged her tightly, crying, saying “I’m so glad you’re okay… we were all so worried…” and the like.  He didn’t let go, even when Frisk prompted him to, he just kept holding her for several seconds.  When he finally let go, he looked around to find everyone staring at him with odd expressions, including Frisk.  He patted himself down, and looked down at the floor, red-faced.  Frisk did too.

Asgore said that he’d posted Frisk’s speech online for the world to see in her absence.  She wouldn’t have to endanger herself with another announcement for the time being, though everyone agreed that the odds of something similar happening again were slim.  The speech was well-received by anonymous commenters, for the most part- though there was more than enough hate against monsters for everyone.  Very little directed at Frisk herself, though- turns out everyone still saw her as a victim of the antics of monsters.  That wouldn’t last long.

The speech read, from the beginning:

_Hello, everyone.  First off, I would like to say that I am not being held here against my will.  Many seem to think that, but I am not.  These monsters are my family.  They are good people, and, as a human, I wish to help them.  That is why we are announcing that from this point forward, I will be acting as an ambassador for the monsters to humans._

_I know I am young and inexperienced, and it may seem like an odd decision.  I assure you, this was something I and my entire family considered for a long time, and it was determined that monsters needed help from a human.  I am the person who knows both worlds better than anyone else, so it is only natural that I would become ambassador._

_I would like to talk about monsters now.  First thing’s first, we need to stop thinking of monsterkind as a separate entity with its own agenda, ‘out to get’ humans and their way of life.  Monsters are people, just like you and I, and these people can live alongside humans without conflict.  They simply want to live up here on the surface with us, being good, contributing to society and economy and culture.  Just like any human you may talk to.  They look different, in a few ways they may act different, but nearly every single monster I have met has been extraordinarily kind and helpful to me._

_Monsters are not bad.  Are there bad monsters?  Absolutely.  But every group has its bad eggs.  Monsters have plenty of good, as well.  There are the typical things- unique music and art, elements of culture- but there are also the ancient talents of magic that can be infinitely useful in many, many places.  Perhaps most notably, many monsters have developed a sort of healing magic that can take minor wounds and fix them near instantaneously.  These are things that can make human life easier and more enjoyable, and there is no reason whatsoever to shut them out._

_I understand that many will resist.  I understand that tensions will be high for some time, and that it will be difficult for humans and monsters to cooperate.  But that is why I am here.  My job is to facilitate communications and form agreements and, in time, combine the two worlds into one.  I am doing this because I love humans_ and _monsters, and can see that we can do great things in the future together.  I will begin doing this as soon as possible._

_Thank you very much and good night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> Things are gonna pick up the pace as of next chapter, I promise.
> 
> I told someone in the comments of last chapter that this'd be out by the end of the weekend, now it's Monday. Long story short, my brother accidentally destroyed my laptop (I MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIX IT I AM A PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER NERD) so I can only write on my gaming PC, which I have limited access to. Eh. Oh well.
> 
> Thanks for reading, you rock.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm... not... dead! The story isn't dead either, I promise.

“That can’t happen again.”

“No, of course it can’t.  I knew it was a bad idea to let Frisk-”

“This wasn’t Frisk’s fault!”

“He’s damn right, Toriel!  This wasn’t her-”

“But she was hurt by it.”

“Hurt?  She’s fucking fine!  Look at her!  Sleeping like a baby, not a bruise on her forehead or whatever and- what happened was an inconvenience.  We can’t just give up at the first sign of-”

“Give up?  I never said anything about giving up.  But we do need to keep her out of this.”

“Toriel, her aid is perhaps the only way-”

“Then we wait for her to grow up.”

“What if another war breaks out before she does?”

“i think it’d be a bad idea to pull out now, tori.  make us seem weak or something.”

“It would make us seem reasonable and-”

“Uhh, T- Toriel?  Your, uh, I guess, uh, I…”

“DAMNIT ALPHYS SPIT IT OUT!”

“O… okay, I, uh, it just seems to me, that, if, if they’re not being reasonable themselves, how can they see us as prudent and protective?”

“bingo.”

“It doesn’t matter!  I do not care if people get hurt, I do not care if we have to go a few more years without true freedom.  I am  _ not _ going to lose another child!”

“Toriel, dear-”

“ _ Don’t.  Call me.  Dear.” _

“Err- I’m sorry.  But you know that we won’t let anything happen to her.  If even for a second it seems as though her life is in danger-”

“Didn’t it seem that way when those police showed up?”   
  
“not to me, it didn’t.  they’re cops and there were cameras.  they gotta have  _ some _ boundaries.”

“But, but-”

“Toriel-”

“I… I… I’m going to bed.  Goodnight, everybody.”

She quickly stormed up the stairs, leaving the room in silence.  They all looked about nervously.  “welp,” Sans eventually said, “i think i’ll turn in myself.  all this talking really takes a lot out of ya, you know?”

“Umm…” Asgore approached Sans shyly, one finger raised.  “Sans?  You, uh… have an empty guest room, right?”

“yeah.  need it?”

“Yes, if it is not too much.  I feel as though I will not be too welcome with, uh… with  _ her _ tonight.”

“won’t be welcome with her at all much longer, pal.”

“What’s that?”

“nuttin.  come on, i’ll have papyrus lay out some sheets for you.”

Then they left, Alphys and Undyne close behind, finding their way to their car and speeding off.  This left Frisk alone, lying on the couch under a thin blanket, in the dark, silent living room that late, late night.  The moment she heard the door shut, she threw the blanket off of her, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.  Laying as still as possible for so long was rather uncomfortable, so she took a moment to stand stretch her limbs.  She didn’t know what to next.  She didn’t want to go to bed yet, though she knew that’s what she  _ should  _ do, she didn’t exactly want to watch TV or anything, especially running the risk of getting caught, but she still wanted distraction from the problems at hand.  Weeks had passed, and they had accomplished nothing.  Toriel hadn’t allowed her to make any more public appearances; she hadn’t gone more than a couple blocks from their home in nearly a month.  Luckily, her distraction activated a light in the kitchen, stepping out from around the corner.

“Hey, Frisk.”

“Az… did you hear that whole thing?”

“Yeah… you weren’t asleep?”

“Not even close.  So?  What do you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, like, what do you think we should do next?”

“Uhh… go back underground?  Pretend this never happened?”

“Oh, come on.  You’re better than that, I know you are.”

“I don’t think so, Frisk.”

“Well I do.”  Frisk paused for a moment, sniffing at a rather unusual scent for the hour.  “Are you… are you making coffee?”

“Yeah, why?”

“It’s nearly midnight.”

“Well… I’m not gonna be able to sleep tonight anyway, so why not?”

After a brief moment back in the kitchen, he walked over to her, mug in hand, and plopped himself next to her on the couch.  They’d spend the next little while passing it between the two, slowly pecking at the hot liquid that needed a little more sugar.

“Are you scared or anything?” Asriel asked.

“Of what?”

“Of everything.  I mean, think about it.  You’re putting yourself out there, speaking for millions, putting yourself in danger, and if you fail, then an entire species is gonna run into issues.  Isn’t that a little… much?”

“Well, of course I am, in a way.  But I firmly believe it’s all for the greater good.  And it’s all gonna be okay in the end, right?  I know it’s a long and hard process, but… we can just talk to a bunch of people and settle things so everyone’s happy.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“That’s how it should.”

“Yeah…”

A long silence.

“Hey Asriel?”

“Hmm?”

“This’ll sound weird…”

“Okay…?”

“Can you… can you promise me something?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Can you promise to stick with me through all this?  Can you always just… be there?  If I need someone to talk to, if I need to vent, if I… if I need a hug?  Please?”

“Of course, you don’t even need to-”

“I know.  I just needed to hear it.”

“Oh… okay.”

“Thanks.”

“So… what now?”

“Hmm?”

“Well, we’re gonna be up all night, so might as well find some way to occupy ourselves.”

Another voice came from the stairwell, one that sounded mildly annoyed.  “Why don’t the two of you make yourselves useful and take care of the dishes?  I feel as though if you’re going to ignore bedtimes, then you might as well.”

“Crap,” Asriel muttered to himself before shouting, “Yep!  We’ll take care of it!  Sorry, Mom!”

Unseen by the children, Toriel smiled a little to herself.  “It is quite alright.  I was the same way when I was your age.  And in these times, when there is so much to think about… it is okay.  I am not upset with you.”

“Oh… thanks!”

“Next time I will be.”

“Alright!”

Asriel stood, taking the now empty coffee mug from Frisk’s hands and starting toward the kitchen.  “Don’t worry bout it, Frisk, I got it.”

“No, no, I should help!”

“You’re helping enough by, uh… what are you doing?”

“Nothing, right now.”

“Yeah.  Good job.”

“Thanks, I try… but seriously, there are an awful lot of dishes, and a lot of them are wicked greasy and everything…”

“I got it, really!”

“But you’re all fluffy, do you really want to ruin that with all the grease?”

“I can handle it.”

Several minutes later, Frisk did end up taking over for him.  The pile was half-complete, and Asriel had gone off to change his clothes, for he had accidentally splashed himself with greasy wet-food water at one point.  Frisk had just arrived to see this, and commented amidst her giggles, “Didn’t you just say you can handle this?”  Asriel only glared at her, dropping the sponge in her hands as he passed her to retrieve new clothes.  So Frisk finished up, smiling to herself, entertained by the embarrassment of the dork and her best friend.

\--

“Senator Shueman?”

“What is it, Rebecca?  I don’t exactly have time for-”

“You’re not really doing anything, are you?”

“...what the hell is it?”

“You hired me to be your advisor, I don’t know why if you never want my advice…”

“Listen, honey-”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“Would you prefer ‘bitch’, because that’s what I’m leaning towards now.”

She stood in front of his desk, looking down at his seated form.  She was used to these comments- he could get rather unpleasant when he was in a bad mood.  Sighing, she left a few papers on his desk and walked out of the room.  “What’s all this?” he asked after the door shut, knowing she wouldn’t hear him.  Truth was, he already knew what awaited him.  More information about that little girl who likes those monsters.  Their next strategy involved contacting her directly and getting her on their side.  He firmly believed that if it weren’t for that one human spouting nothing but good things about monsters, he’d have a much easier time pushing those freaks away.  Already she had more of an effect on everyone than she’d realized; by being captured, she’d almost turned herself into a martyr without dying.  Lucky her.

He’d considered that, too.  Her death.  But she was a child, he wasn’t about to have her killed.  He’d done bad things, things he’d regret for the rest of his life, but he knew that harming the girl would be a horrible idea.  Not to mention if anyone found out it would make him look really bad.  And turn her into an actual martyr.  But it would rile up the monsters, perhaps get them to act more aggressively…

He shook his head.  It was ludicrous on the face of it, and he knew it.  Assassination was a last resort in regards to adults, and out of the question in regards to a child.

He looked to the photo on his desk.  It was a large photo with a golden frame, depicting a little blonde girl riding a bike.  He was doing this for her, he told himself.  For her.  It was in her best interest, right?  Father knows best.

Maybe she wanted him home at that moment.  She was probably asleep at that hour, but maybe she was awake, waiting for him.  Or maybe she still wasn’t talking to him.  She’d been mad at him since he told her she couldn’t play with any of her new friends.  It his eyes, she was too young and naive to understand that, as a human, it wasn’t in her place to play with these things.  Oh well.  She’ll learn.

He glanced at the clock.  It was one in the morning.  Had he kept Rebecca up this late every night that week?

“REBECCA!”

She popped her head through the door.

“What is it, Jack?”

“I’m sorry, I know I’ve been a dick recently…”

“That’s an understatement.”

“Okay, I’m trying to apologize, and you’re- you know what?  I should just stop talking.”

“Maybe…”

“Go home, have fun, do what you want.  I’ll, uh… I’ll take it from here myself.”

“...are you telling me I can leave, or are you telling me I’m fired?”

“You’re not fired, you’re… just go home.”

“Uhm, okay, Senator.  If you need me I’m just-”

“Yep, okay, got it.”

When she was gone again, he let his head fall to the desk.  It was rather stressful, being in his position, and it gave him rather frequent headaches.  It was hard not to fall asleep on the spot, but somehow he managed, finally getting to his rather fine estate at nearly three.   


\--

When Sans arrived in the Dreemurr home, the first sight he saw melted his heart.  Frisk and Asriel were asleep on the couch, resting their heads against each other, a blanket draped over them both.  He took out his phone and took a picture before proceeding to do the responsible thing, drawing a monocle on Frisk’s face and a moustache and goatee on Asriel’s.  Then he took another picture, printed it out, framed it, and left it on their kitchen table.  But he hadn’t been called over to have fun.  Toriel had texted him asking him to take the kids out school shopping, as Toriel herself had to be at the school preparing for the upcoming year.  She made him promise to wake them as gently as possible, as they had been up late the night before.

Luckily, his talent with the trombone was largely transferable to other brass instruments, because his definition of “gentle” involved a trumpet.  Reveille, nice and high and loud.  Within seconds, the two were up and rubbing their heads, groaning in irritation, and within minutes, Papyrus was at the door complaining about the noise.

There were, of course, complaints about the doodles on their heads, but Sans assured them that it was washable.  Frisk’s monocle came off in the shower, luckily, but Asriel’s facial hair did not.  It faded significantly, leaving the fur around his mouth slightly gray.  “I think it’s an improvement,” Frisk had commented as he passed by in search of a shirt, earning her her second death glare of the past few hours.  Soon they were all dressed, and Sans teleported them to a nearby department store.

It was one of those stores that was a monster-friendly human store.  In other words, it was a store run by humans for humans, and the customers were nearly all human, but when monsters did shop there, they were served with a smile by the employees and not given a second glance by other patrons.  It seemed Sans and Asriel were indeed the only monsters there at the time, though they did not draw any attention, luckily.  Frisk was worried there’d be a scene.  There was, it just took a few minutes.

The first thing they did was make googly eyes at the video games, then they made googly eyes at action figures and nerf guns and whatnot, then they made googly eyes at candy in the food area.  But they were sent there with an express purpose- prepare those entering adolescence for their final year of middle school.  It took a while, but Asriel and Frisk decided they should be good and get to their school shopping.  Sans was the holdout, but he too capitulated with time.

Frisk was one of those super-organized students, with fifty binders and folder all color coded and sorted by who knows, but Asriel was not.  He was done within five minutes, nearly randomly throwing pencils and folders and whatnot into their shopping cart hardly giving them a glance.  Frisk took her time, looking over each item carefully.  At one point she and Sans got into an argument over the functionality of a larger binder.

“Come on, Sans, it has all these pockets and it comes with dividers and-”

“and it’s nearly $20.  can’t you find something a little less… extravagant?”

“But I like the fancy design on the front?”

“will the design do your homework?”

“Maybe if I’m lucky!”

“magic is cool, frisk, but it’s not  _ that _ cool.”

“Come on, Saaaannnsssss, it’s not even your money!  It’s mom’s!”

“technically, it’s asgore’s.  and i think he’d be just as careful about he spends his money as i am right now.”

A few aisles over, Asriel found an assortment of items he rather liked.  Keyboards, guitars, their associated accessories… he found a whole new set of things to make googly eyes at.  He lingered over one acoustic guitar specifically.  It looked quite nice, sounded good (its strings were exposed) and was reasonably priced.  Surely asking for it would prove pointless, right?  He let his fingers rest on it for a second before he was rather abruptly pushed aside by a stranger.

The stranger was a young man, a year or two older than Asriel himself, though quite a bit larger- taller, muscular, wearing a black tank-top.  He paid no mind to the fact that another was already observing the guitar, he extended his hand and shoved him away, leaving Asriel stumbling several feet from his original position.

“Hey!  I was looking at that!”

“Oh look, it talks.”  The stranger looked over at Asriel and sneered.

“What?”

“You’re a freakin goat, kid.  You can’t play this thing.  Go back to the mountains or whatever where you came from and maybe you can find some dumb thing to play there.”

_ Great, one of these guys…  _ “I can’t play that ‘cause I’m a monster?”

“Sounds about right.  You shouldn’t even touch this thing, even.  Dunno what you’re even doing here…”

“I like music, and I want this guitar so I can-”

“Just shut up, you’re ruining my day.”

“But, but-”

“Seriously, shitface, just get out of here before I force you out.”

Another voice appeared behind Asriel.  “Hey!  You can’t talk to him like that!  You have no idea what he’s been through!”

Asriel turned around to find Frisk, angry and aggressive.  He didn’t say anything, she didn’t look at him.  He just took a step back, distancing himself from both the stranger and the saviour.

“Look, kid,” the stranger said, “Your girlfriend’s come to back you up.”

Despite the situation, Asriel blushed a bit, turning to Frisk to see her reaction to his statement.  She didn’t seem to even notice.  “Well,” the stranger continued, “If you wanna join him out on the prairie or whatever, go ahead.  Furfags like you deserve to-”

“Shut up.”

“Did you just-”

“I said shut up.  He’s a nice guy, you know.  He’s kind and caring and adorable and you’re just an ass.  Maybe you think he’s an animal.  Guess what?  He is.  So are you, so am I.  We all are, you’re not somehow above him just ‘cause you don’t got fur.”

The stranger smiled a little, muttering to himself, “Get a load of this bitch…”

Then a rather large man, early twenties, appeared behind the stranger, wearing a kind face and massive smile.  Then, smile unwavering, he lifted the stranger by the back of his shirt, causing him to receive punches and kicks and complaints.  The man was unfazed.  “Scuse me,” he said Frisk and Asriel, “This guy bothering you?”  They just nodded, and immediately, the guy took off still carrying the stranger.  Frisk and Asriel exchanged a confused glance.  After a minute or so, the man returned, still smiling.  “Sorry about him, some people are colossal dicks.  Massive, erect, dripping-”

“Okay!  You can stop now!”  Frisk said, wincing a bit.

“Sorry.  Well, I hope people like him don’t bother you too much.  I know the two of you from the news, and boy, you’ve gotten yourselves in the middle of a lot of bad stuff.  I just want to tell you you have a lot more people in your corner than you realize.  And if you ever need help, I’m sure there will be people willing to volunteer.”

“Oh... well… thanks, mister!”

“My pleasure.  Now, I think I overheard the Prince saying he liked this guitar?”  He gestured to the guitar that had caught his attention.  Asriel nervously nodded.  “Okay, great.  You two have a swell day!”  He left with a smile and a wave, leaving the children equally thankful and confused.

“Who was he?”  Frisk asked.

“I have no idea… hey, Frisk?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“What for?”

“For standing up for me.”

“Well, I’m not gonna let him just say horrible things, Az.”

“I know, but… still, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“You… you said I was adorable.”

“Did I?  Well, uh, umm, I, uh, well, you see, it’s, you’re, uh… you’re all fluffy and cute okay?  Shut up.”  Frisk was red as a tomato and looking at her feet.  For some reason, Asriel couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“hey guys.”  Sans strolled into the aisle rather casually, perhaps not realizing that anything had happened.

“Sans!  Where have you been?” Asriel inquired.

“i saw this really cool kaleidoscope, you guys should probably check it out.”

“Uh huh, okay.  Well… wait, what are you doing?”

Sans had picked up the guitar and was now walking, with the cart, toward the checkout.  “oh, this?  some guy said i had to get this for you.”

“Really?”

“yeah.  so, uh, happy birthday.”

“My birthday’s in May.  It’s August…”

“then merry christmas.”

“It’s still August…”

\--

Outside, a teenager in a black tanktop lay against the side of a building, unconscious.  Blood dripped from his nose.  It took a few hours, but someone eventually found him and brought him to the hospital.  From there, news spread about how he was brutally attacked by a monster.  Witnesses reported that he was lying- but that did not stop people from believing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-  
> It's 3:00 AM and I wanna get this out tonight, so I didn't do that thing people do... what's it called? Reading it over? Editing? I didn't do either of those things... sorry.
> 
> If you don't know what Reveille is off the top of your head, here you go. You'll find it familiar. https://youtu.be/SGnZxcS7VKA?t=10
> 
> Okay, elephant in the room: No updates for three, count 'em, three weeks. I am sorry, really. Here's why:
> 
> 1\. That unmotivated rut I've been in? The one I said I'm out of? Turns out I'm not.  
> 2\. Nearly 100% of my writing energy has gone to my 2nu fic, I'm simply more enthusiastic about it right now.  
> 3\. There was a period of several days during which I couldn't write because my laptop was having issues  
> 4\. This is the big one: Marching band has started. For those of you who don't know, that means I'm spending six or more hours a day, Monday through Saturday, marching and running and playing music on a 90-degree field. So lots of time and energy goes into that, and by the time I get home I'm about as active as a potato.
> 
> But the story is not dead. I WILL finish it if it takes me ten freakin' years (it won't). And I hope you stick with me, but it's okay if you drop out. Undertale is nearly a year old now, hype for it has died completely, It's perfectly understandable if you're no longer keeping up with your Friskriel fanfiction anymore. Hell, I'm not myself. I only write this, I don't read anything anymore.
> 
> Again, I'm sorry, and, uh... I just don't know what to say. I don't see updates getting much better in terms of speed until September, 'cause that's when school starts, which ironically gives me more time. Band takes up so much that I actually have more free time during the school year... ugh.
> 
> But thanks for reading. You rock. I mean that.
> 
> Fun fact: This chapter has exactly 3333 words.


	17. A Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tl;dr: I'm sorry there are no updates. I'm not in a good place right now, and, to be blunt, I've lost enthusiasm for the story. But it's not dead, I will finish the story with time.

9/9/2016

Heya-

We hit 200 comments and more than 200 kudos while I was gone… thanks.

So it has been nearly a month since the last update.  And before that, it was three weeks, and before that, two.  I'm slowing down when I swore to you I'd speed up.  And… I know it’s not much to say sorry, but it’s all I feel I can do given my current circumstances.

I do, however, feel inclined to say this: _Alone No More_ is not dead.

I made a commitment, I promised I'd provide a story, and damnit it’s gonna happen.  I don’t even know if any of my original or early followers are still keeping up on it, and, of course, that’s okay.  Bo Burnham pointed out that fans tend to say they'd stick with entertainers through thick and thin, when in reality, they shouldn't, instead kicking them to the curb when they cease to do their job.  So in a way, it’s a good thing people have dropped it.  For those who haven't, please be patient.  More is coming.  I know not when, but this story _will be finished._

But I haven't even started to write the next chapter.

Here’s what I'm dealing with right now: A full schedule my senior year of high school, every class that can be AP or Honors, in fact, is.  This means a lot of work and stress in school, and a lot of work and stress out of school in the form of homework.  Petty complaints, I am aware.  In addition, I am taking multiple courses online, including AP Calculus BC, which takes up even more time.  And on top of that, I'm in marching band.  So I don't really have any free time any more at all, and the little I have I prefer to use destroying noobs in Team Fortress.

In addition, I can't ever find sleep, my mind is always foggy, my muscles are always sore, my mouth is in constant pain, and my migraines are getting more frequent and more intense.  The depression I was diagnosed with four years ago has reached new heights.  I am getting tired of the constant noise and movement in my home; I am a very solitary individual, and I live in a family of five in a house with three rooms total (excluding bathrooms).  I have basically broken down screaming at nothing twice in the past week.

And nearly all my friends are alienating me for some reason, and...

So I'm not in a great place right now.  But none of those even comes close to the biggest reason for the lack of work on the story.

_I don't want to work on it._

Horrible, right?  Yeah, it kind of is, I know.  But it’s the truth.  I have lost _all_ of my enthusiasm for Undertale in general, and by extension, my Undertale fanfiction.  I once saw writing this as a treat, but now it is a chore.  There are times when I have ideas and I do want to come back to it, but those times are few and far between, and more often than not, in class or something.  Really, I don't know where to go with the story.  And I don't really wanna write it.

But it will be finished.  I said I’d finish it, and I will.  Just… give it time.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry updates have been virtually nonexistent recently, and I'm even more sorry that it’s not gonna get much better.  Just, please try to understand where I'm coming from?  A little?

And… thanks.  The support I've gotten thus far has been truly breathtaking.  Super kind, encouraging comments all over the place, just… thanks.

Especially from my most consistent commenters: Dazon, Emily, Meliodas340, Maj0rt0mL4, Kiryienka, and many others.  If you’re not on the list, that doesn’t mean I love you any less.  These guys stick out in my head for one reason or another.

Anyway, that's all for now.  Catch you all later.

-Alex/Tungsten

 

Edit: You guys have been super nice down there V.  Thanks for the support, but if you're upset, say so!  Rip me a new one!  I feel I deserve it.  If you have something nice to say, by all means do so.  But if you're annoyed and wanna get out your insults, PLEASE DO.  I feel like I need to be reprimanded or something.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk stays home from school and has an utterly unremarkable day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm writing again!  
> I decided to leave "A Message" up and pretend that's chapter 17, because if I name this chapter 17 and put it in the 18 slot it'll drive me mad. So this is 18. Whoohoo.

Tick tock, tick tock.

The noise of the clock seemed somehow amplified by the situation.  And the silence.

Tick tock, tick tock.

And the last remnants of light were leaving the sky, obscuring the faces of suited men in darkness.

Tick tock, tick tock.

Flashes of every color of the rainbow mingled together, shining through the windows and giving the once cozy room a hostile, nervous feel.

And one girl at the start of adolescence sat alone on the couch, refusing to make eye contact with those before her.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

She was on her own this time.

\--

_ Thirteen hours earlier… _

The usually nonviolent Frisk could not help but lash out in anger, striking with surprising force the cause of her frustration.  And it fell off the table, the 5:30 AM alarm beeping to the pulse of that throb in her head.  When had she fallen asleep exactly?

It didn't matter.  What mattered now was that she get showered and dressed quickly enough to shake Asriel awake so that he could do the same without being late.  She’d have to skip breakfast again, maybe not brush her hair, stuff what she could into her bag hoping her materials didn’t get to disorganized in the process.

And then she opened her eyes.  Of course, she didn’t remember closing them.  She awoke to a slightly different environment- brighter, quieter.  Lots of sunlight and no alarm.  The alarm clock itself was still on the table beside her, with a couple of new scratches from when she previously knocked it from its place.  She didn’t remember putting it back.

“Oh, you’re awake!  Did you sleep well?”

Frisk rubbed her eyes a little and sat up in bed, confused.  “Mom?  What’s… what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“I… I thought I got up earlier and-”

And she fell back asleep, despite her already panicked morning schedule.  Now she couldn’t even shower if she didn’t want to be late to school, if she wasn’t late already.  Just a quick change of clothes and...

But the sun was up.  That meant she was late already.

“Mom, I gotta get to school!  And… you do too, I guess?  What are you still doing here?  Why didn’t you wake me up?  Why-”

“Shhh…” Toriel placed a massive hand on Frisk’s head, slowly guiding it back to her pillow.  “Frisk, you need not worry.  I have simply decided that today would be a good day for both of us to spend some time at home, getting some much needed rest.  You have been very stressed out, my child.  It is unhealthy.”

“But I need to-”

“Whatever you had to do today, you mustn't think about.  I will handle the other teachers.  You only need to sleep and relax.  I will wake you when breakfast is ready, is that okay?”

“Umm… yeah, I guess.  Thanks.”

“You are welcome.  Say, do you have any special requests for your meal this morning?”

“Uhh, honestly, I don’t think I’m gonna eat.”

“Oh no, are you feeling ill?  Let me get a thermometer, I think I left one-”

“Mom, I’m… I’m fine.  You don’t need to get me anything.  But yeah, I don’t feel great right now.  It’ll get better, I promise.”

“You promise?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.  I will be in the other room if you need me.  Try to sleep, won’t you?”

“Yep.”

With a smile and a wave, Toriel had left the room, leaving Frisk alone in her bed.  She didn’t think she’d ever heard the house this quiet before.  Usually there were yelling skeletons, white noise of television or video games, pots and pans and sizzling from the kitchen.  Without the activity of everyone else, it felt… weird.  Isolated.  Uncomfortable.

Unable to fall back asleep (it was nearly 9:00 anyway), she decided to do a bit of exploring within her home.  She first checked Asriel’s room, but found him and his backpack absent.  A closet across the hall held a soundly sleeping Sans, and in the living room Toriel was reading one of those cheesy self-help books.

The silence again was a little unnerving.  They had a particularly quiet old-fashioned clock on the wall in the living room, and she didn’t think she’d actually heard it until then.  In the quiet of this day, it was loud and clear.  Tick tock, tick tock.

The presence of Sans got her thinking a little.  He’d been around a lot more, recently.  Asgore had been staying with him and Papyrus for months now, seemingly avoiding Toriel at all costs.  He’d make an effort to come say hello to the kids whenever Toriel went out, but would otherwise keep to himself.  Since he ‘moved in’ with the skelebros, Sans had also changed his behavior, but instead of avoiding Toriel, he started sticking to her a bit more.  He was simply… around.  On the couch when they got home from school.  Eating dinner with them unannounced or uninvited.  And more and more frequently, he had spent the night, ending up asleep absolutely anywhere.  This sometimes caused a little chuckle, like the time he dozed off on top of the refrigerator, but sometimes it was simply annoying, like when he took up the whole couch or, as was the case one frustrating evening, Frisk’s own bed.  In retrospect, she didn’t mind.  But she wanted to spend as few nights sleeping on the couch as possible.

After several minutes of strolling about, wondering what to do, she decided to return to her room.  The internet possessed endless entertainment of all sorts, so she figured it would be her friend for the day, at least until Asriel came home.  There was something of an obstruction in her computer chair however, as a short and plump skeleton had woken up and was using it.  When she opened the door, he spun around in the chair, and said “sorry, i needed it for important skeleton dealings.  here ya go.”  He then strode right past Frisk and out of the room, leaving on screen something she was clearly meant to see: he had done an image search for “dank memes”.

Frisk shook her head.  Sans was quite a character.  But at last, she really could relax.  Being in school and being an ambassador for an entire race was rather exhausting, even if her ambassador duties were not as extensive as they could be.  She was more a form of advertising than anything else; a posterchild showing the potential of cooperation between humans and monsters.  Looking at what she had to deal with, she made an interesting conclusion.  Conflict between humans and monsters were bad.  Conflict between pro-monster humans and con-monster humans were worse.  Humans were surprisingly quicker to hurt other humans than they were to hurt monsters, verbally or physically.

Perhaps it was the intimidation factor.  It could be a probable cause, but for every massively muscled predator-looking monster there was, there were just as many tiny mice and kittens.

But now was not the time to think about it.  Now she’d relax, and think of anything but.

\--

Three monsters sat in a basement, all crowded around a tablet, watching the latest speech of a certain very vocal anti-monster senator.

These monsters had a bit of unique information.  The human who last possessed it had little willpower.  Little strength.  It was easy to get it out of him.

And these monsters decided that if they were going to act, this may be their best opportunity.  He’d be easy to find, relatively vulnerable, and there were sure to be cameras there to see the whole thing.  News would be talking about it for days.

But would they be heroes?  That’s a matter of perception.

\--

Asriel closed his locker, sighing.  He hadn’t brought lunch with him; usually Frisk brought food for both of them.  Self-reliance was not his greatest quality.  He marched down to the cafeteria, a bit slowly, finding his normal spot and sitting down as he always did.  But this time, there was no one to his right.  An empty space where normally he’d find a girl with shoulder-length, brownish black hair and an affinity for blue shirts.  He heard the low murmur of children talking around him when normally he’d only hear the laughter of his friend.  But she wasn’t there.

He missed her.  A lot.  Even though he had just talked to her last night, and would see her again in a few short hours, he missed her.  He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to just look at her.  He rather liked it.

But soon another thought crossed his mind.  Was she really his only friend?  Looking around, he saw no one he was particularly drawn to talk to, nor was anyone gravitating toward him.  Weren’t kids and teenagers supposed to have lots of friends?  He shrugged it off, as having one very close friend was all he felt he needed.  He didn’t really  _ want _ lots of friends.

He wished Frisk were there now, for if she were, he’d actually have something to eat.

\--

Frisk didn’t like being home alone.  Most people did, but she didn’t.   _ Alone _ was simply something she wasn’t very okay with.  So she sat in the living room again, by herself, once more experiencing the silence and the tick tock of the clock.

Sans had gone back to Papyrus and Asgore, as he sometimes did and sometimes didn’t at some point over the course of any given day, and Asriel and Toriel were off at a dentist.  The fact that Asriel had an appointment was a surprise to them both, and even more shocking was the time.  Who the hell schedules a dentist appointment at 6 PM anyway?  No matter, it would be quick, Frisk hoped.  And then she’d have company once more.

But she did have company, and rather quickly.  And not the kind she wanted.

A knock on the door was not a common occurrence in this household, and to hear someone actually try to knock to enter was an experience that was slightly alien to the young girl.  But, as she was taught, she said “Coming!” and opened the door.

Her mouth fell open just a little at who stood before her.  She wasn’t sure whether it was the mere surprise, or a combination of surprise and fifty variants of fear, nervousness, and anger.  Three men in suits occupied the Dreemurr porch.  The two behind had straight faces and dark sunglasses.  The one in front was Senator Jack Shueman, perhaps her biggest opponent in all her efforts.

“Hello, Frisk.  May I talk to you?  May I come in?”

“Umm…”

She didn’t step aside or allow his entry, he simply stepped around her and stood in front of the couch, gesturing for her to sit down.  She didn’t.

“Listen, Frisk, your hesitance is understandable, but I really need to speak with you.  Please.”

They wouldn’t leave until they got what they wanted.  With a defiant sort of stride, she walked over to the couch and lowered herself onto the center cushion, being sure to sit with perfect posture looking the Senator in the eye.  He didn’t sit.  He didn’t want to be on the same level as her.

The other men (she assumed they were guards of a sort) entered the home, closing and locking the door behind them.  One stayed at the door, while the other resumed his position right behind the Senator.

“Well, Frisk, it is nice to meet you.  I assume you know who I am.”

“I do.”

“Then you know that you and I don’t exactly see eye to eye on everything.”

“I do.”

“Okay, good.  Are the monsters home?”

“No, I’m by myself.”  She didn’t know if the truth would help her in this case.

“Excellent, so we can speak to each other without a filter.  Now, Frisk- you would like me to call you ‘Frisk’, right?”

“Yes I would.”

“Very well.  Anyway, you’re rather famous, you know.  The human child standing up for all these monsters!  Cause they deserve equality, right?”

“You could put it that way…”

“Yes you can.  Now, I have a question for you.  When you answer, I want you to remember that there are no monsters around.  You can say what you want about them right now, and you will not come to harm.  Now… what do you really think of them?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Well, you’ve been held here for a while, I assume it’s so they can use you as a tool to convince humanity that they’re not the beasts they are.  So, I ask again without any monsters being around, what do you really think of them?”

Frisk showed no emotion as she spoke.  “I think they’re wonderful people, a lot more pleasant than most of the humans I’ve met.”

“Really, kid, come on.  If you really believe that, then you need to realize that they’ve brainwashed you.  Look at yourself.  You’re being raised by… by goat people.  Do you think that you, a human being with a brain, really belong in this group?”

“I belong here more than I’ve belonged anywhere else in my life.”

The Senator was visually getting frustrated.  “Frisk, come on, I understand that you’re a child, but you cannot be that naive.  You, what, fell into their world, right?  You were held captive by the thing you now call your mother, you were attacked multiple times, you come up, and when we try to return you to your foster home, they steal you away again.  Does that not sound horrible to you?  Does that not sound criminal?”

“You are horribly misunderstanding-”

“No, you are.  And I’m not gonna leave until you say that monsters are horrible creatures that do not belong alongside us in this world.”

And that is when they sat.  They ignored the flashes of light outside.  They simply sat in uncomfortable silence, listening to the clock.

Tick tock, tick tock.

\--

_ Meanwhile _ …

A monster stood a ways back, watching the Dreemurrs’ door close behind the three humans.  This monster was large and red and scaly, almost like a deformed bipedal crocodile.  Now was the time.  He put his hands together, focusing magical energy on a single point between them.  Soon he’d release, and the mission would be successful.

At least, it would be, if he wasn’t pinned to the ground by a trident threatening to impale him.

“Who are you, and what are you doing?” Asgore boomed in his trademark roar of intimidation.  A moment later, he was joined by Undyne.  They both had donned their full armor, preparing for the worst.  But it may have been a misunderstanding.  He may have been doing something perfectly innocent.

The crocodile monster chuckled a little bit, watching as his two accomplices- more crocodile monsters- creeped up behind Undyne.  But Undyne is not one to be snuck up on, and she whipped around and summoned spears from the ground before they could even touch her, causing them to jump back.  These crocodiles then shot what appeared to be rather sharp teeth at Undyne, causing her to dodge away herself.  The first crocodile took advantage of this distraction to physically kick Asgore off of him, pulling the trident away and throwing it to the curb.  While Asgore recovered, he too attacked Undyne.  Three barrages of crocodile teeth were a little too much, and she was hit, but not badly.  She turned one of their souls green, pinning him in place, but unfortunately could not hold two down at once.  So she focused on subduing one while Asgore picked up his trident and swung it at the other.

They went on like this for a while, the battle working out in Undyne and Asgore’s favor, until they made a realization.  People had just entered the Dreemurr home.  Humans.

“UNDYNE!”

“WHAT IS IT, ASGORE?!”

“CAN YOU HANDLE THIS YOURSELF?”

“WHY THE FUCK WOULD I WANNA DO THAT?”

“FRISK!  I NEED TO CHECK ON FRISK!”

“Ugh, FINE, GO, I GOT THIS…”

As Asgore ran off, the trapped crocodile took advantage of the break in Undyne’s concentration to free himself from her green-soul hold.  And now the three surrounded Undyne, with sinister grins, approaching slowly.  Undyne removed her helmet and chuckled.  “Alright assholes, come and get it.”

\--

Asgore entered the Dreemurr home to find an older human he recognized with a younger one he didn’t, both standing over Frisk, all silent.  But more pressingly, he found himself almost immediately at the wrong end of a handgun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this chapter was a little short, but I got something out. I actually found myself wanting to write this story at a time I'm actually able to. That time is 3:00 AM, but hey, fuck it!  
> Really I'm writing again in general. For a while I just... stopped. Dunno why. But I am again, and that's good.  
> Oh, and I'm actually taking a writing class now, so if there's a noticeable difference between this chapter and others...? I don't think there is, but I would probably be the last one to notice.
> 
> Thanks for reading, you rock. Especially if you've stuck around for the past two months without an update.
> 
> P.S. Not that anyone asked, but I listen to a lot of Chuck Mangione when I write. Just sayin.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5k hits. You guys are the best.  
> Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNDERTALE im super late HAPPYYYY BIRRETHRHHHHH DAYYYIYIYYYY

Dodge left, spear right, knock him down.  Whip around, jump back, land on your back on the one who just fell and pin him down.  Face the two approaching from the front, spear one, allow the other to attack.  Jump away so the attack hurts his friend.  One down.  Not dead, but down.  Not allowed to kill if avoidable.

Oops, oh well.

Spear the one that was down again, smile as the dust flies away in the wind.  Use the momentary shock of the other two to provide them with the same gruesome fate.  And laugh as the last one sees justice.

\--

Normally, Undyne wouldn't take such sadistic pleasure from what really was the least favorite part of her job.  She was obsessed with fighting not for the violence or the pain, but for the feeling of victory.  Coming out the better of the combatants, being lauded for her accomplishments.  But this time, these ugly little monsters tried to hurt her friends, and there was little that could redeem that.  These things deserved to die.

Speaking of her friends, she hadn’t heard a thing from the house.  No light of magic usage, no sounds of yelling or physical fighting, nothing.  No one had left or entered.  The building was still, which was either very good or very bad.

Slowly, she approached, staying clear of the windows just in case.  Putting her ear up to the door, she could hear two low pitched voices, one of them Asgore’s.

“And how would that look to the press?  You seem so attached to the media that-”

“The victors write history, King Asgore.  So, if I tell Barry over there to shoot you, then all you are is a beast, a ravenous animal attacking humans attempting diplomacy.  We will have been acting in self defense.”

“And if he does not?”

“Oh, he will, unless you leave without getting any closer or saying anything to Frisk here.  I don't want you influencing her.”

“Senator…”

“What?”

“You have come into this home without permission and are threatening to shoot me on false grounds.  You are breaking laws be even-”

“Laws?  What laws allow talking animals the same rights as humans?  What laws say you can kidnap a little girl, keep her as a pet, and use her to showcase just how  _ great _ you must be?  If you cat above the law, so will I, until I get these laws changed so this sort of thing is  _ explicitly not allowed.” _

“Senator, I am more than happy to sit down with you and work out our differences peacefully, if you are willing.”

“Oh, I know.  But that won't get anywhere.  I know I'm stubborn, and I'll bet you are too, so we’ll just start arguing and we’ll both lose.  We don't want that, do we?  No.  I take action because that’s how you win.”

“Mr. Shueman… if you are unwilling to resolve out issues peacefully… then I am prepared to defend myself.”

“Oh, what ever are you implying?”

“I do not plan to die tonight.  If I am attacked, I cannot guarantee the safety of you and your colleagues.”

“Someone’s cocky.  Well, the whole human monster war all those years ago ended with human victory.  That's before we had guns.  Now?  I don't think even you could stand up to these fine gentlemen working for me.”

“Try me.”

Just as the suited men started toward Asgore, he disappeared.  And so did Frisk.  After a few minutes of confused profanity, the unwelcome humans left the home.

\--

“hey, kiddo.  you okay?”

Frisk had ended up sitting on the couch of Papyrus, with whom Sans was staying for the day (they knew not when exactly the official transition had been made, but Sans was now indisputably living with the Dreemurrs minus Asgore).  Before her stood a mildly-tired looking skeleton, a bead of sweat somehow condensed on his skull.

“Huh?  Yeah, Sans, I’m fine.  Thanks, by the way.”

“no prob.  so, uh… what was goin on anyway?”

“You know that creepy senator guy who really hates us?”

“yeah.”

“He pretty much barged into our house and demanded I go on record saying bad things about monsters or something.  I dunno, maybe he wants me on their side?”

“of course he does.  it’d be pretty powerful to get the girl who-”

“Yeah, Sans, I understand.”

“k, jeez… continue.”

“Anyway, I just sat there refusing to talk.  I didn’t know what else to do, you know?  He had some guys with him, I dunno whether they were Secret Service or just personal guards or what… but they didn’t seem very nice.  They came when the house was empty, I knew they wouldn’t let me leave or contact anyone… so I just sat there.”

“sure.  and how’d you manage to text me?”

“Oh, everyone’s attention was on Asgore for a while- you  _ did _ get him too, right?”

“course.  that’s why i’m a little winded, not used to teleporting three at once from far away.”

“Three?  Who was the third?”

“undyne was outside.  i think i got them both out just before she did something... brave.”

“And stupid.  Anyway, Asgore had a gun pointed at him and they were arguing and… there was some sort of thing happening outside?  I couldn’t quite see it, but there was some light and-”

“uhh, battle to the death.”

“Haha, yeah.  But what really happened?”

“...battle to the death.”

“Wait, really?”

“undyne kinda wasted some guys.  pretty impressive, actually.”

“Oh my god…”

“yeah... so, want some hot chocolate?  pap’s makin.”

“Will there be spaghetti in it?”

“believe it or not, he’s been improving on the whole spaghetti thing.  he’s made a few things without any form of pasta, actually.”

“Is he sick?”

“probably.  cmon, bucko, let’s go.”

\--

Undyne and Asgore eyed each other with confused faces.  Neither said a word.  It took nearly a minute for them to realize that they were no longer in danger, and in fact they were on the floor in Undyne’s bedroom, neither of them appearing hurt.  “Frisk,” Asgore said in a half-whisper moments before Undyne’s phone buzzed.  It was a text from Sans, saying that Frisk was safe and with him.  They stood, laughed, hugged, and were interrupted.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” a trembling yellow mass yelled from behind a green blanket on their bed.  “S- sorry, I just, I was just… I don’t really know… what is happening?”

“Lemme tell you what happened, babe, I JUST REKT SOME-”

“Undyne,” Asgore interjected, “Please,  _ please _ be appropriate.  We were all in great danger just a moment ago, and cannot be sure it has passed.”

“Right, right… well, Alphys, remember those three monsters you kept seeing kind of… lurking around Frisk’s place?”

“Yeah?”

“Well I just knew those guys were up to no good… they just kept talking about  _ this date _ .  Something about  _ today _ was special.  So earlier, I asked Asgore to get all suited up, just in case, and we stood watch for a while, and then they almost attacked the home.  Asgore went in to check on Frisk while I handled the baddies.  Neat, huh?”

“Well…  _ yes _ , in- in a way, but, isn’t it, uh, at least a little worrying?”

“Of course it is, but the problem is solved for now, right?”

“I.. I guess.  Where are the, uh, the bad guys now?”

“Oh… they’re… dead.”

_ “WHAT?!” _  It came from Asgore and Alphys simultaneously.  Undyne had hardly opened her mouth before she was berated by two minds at once for her rash, irresponsible, horribly brutal behavior.  But they both seemed more concerned that the ‘bad guys’ couldn’t be questioned than that monsters died that night.  “Oh well, I did what I had to.  I don’t know if it was the best choice I’ve ever made, but it sure as hell wasn’t the worst.  Let’s just… I dunno.  I’m tired.”

“We all are,” mentioned Asgore.  “I say we go to our respective homes and rest.  We can discuss this in the future.

“Asgore, you’re the only one who has to leave!”

“Oh.  Right.  Well… bye.”

And he hurried out the door.

\--

A frustrated Jack Shueman peered through the many papers in his filing cabinet, not finding that which he was looking for.  He huffed and puffed, before straightening out his back and turning to sit back down at his desk.  But something startled him.  A skeleton-looking thing in a white t-shirt sat in his chair.  Funny.  He never heard the door open or close.

“Who the hell are you and why are you in my office?”

“nice place… a little drab, though.”

“A little- GET THE HELL OUT!”

“nah.”

“I will call security, I will have you arrested!”

“nah.”

“Oh, I will, just-”  He stopped himself upon realizing he left his phone on his desk, far closer to the skeleton than himself.  After a moment of quick thought, he turned around and tried to open his office door.  The knob wouldn’t budge.  “What the hell have you done to my door?  It doesn't lock from the outside, how did you-”

“it does lock from the outside.  it does now, anyway.  funny, huh?”

“No it is not- PUT THIS RIGHT OR I WILL GET MY ASSISTANT TO CALL THE POLICE!”

“nah.”

Shueman yelled through the door.  “REBECCA!  REBECCA!!!!  LISTEN TO ME!! I NEED HELP!”

Silence.  He turned back to the skeleton.  “What have you done to my assistant?”

“sent her home.”

“Sent her-”

“yeah, told her she could just leave.  she seemed pretty happy about it, really.  talked for a moment.  man, she  _ really _ does not like working for you.”

The skeleton stood up and slowly began to approach the Senator.  “You… I’m warning you… if you do not leave right now, I am prepared to handle you myself,” he said, touching the metal object hidden in his belt.

“is that a threat?”

“Maybe.”

“heh.  well, senator, i just wanna talk.”

“Talk?”   


“yeah, talk.  you know… i’ll start.  what is your problem with monsters?”

“What?”

“what’s the deal?  i mean, sure you don’t like us, but… come on.  there’s gotta be something else.”

“Oh, please.  I don’t have to answer to the likes of you.”

“okay... maybe i wasn’t clear.”  The skeleton’s eyes went dark as he stepped up within inches of the Senator.  Shueman’s hand trembled and sweat gripping his weapon- paralyzed, he could not lift it from his belt.  “you and i are gonna chat about monsters.  i will ask questions and you will answer them.  at least, that’s what i  _ want _ this to be.  so, are we gonna have a friendly chat… Or are we gonna have a bad time?”

\--

“Hey, Sans, did you get anything from that Shueman guy?”

“nah, frisk, sorry.  he’s surprisingly strong-willed.  couldn’t get him to talk.”

“Did you hurt him?”

“course not.”

“Good… so what now?”

“stay the course.”

\--

And stay the course they did.  Three years went by, little progress was made.  Frisk and Shueman both gained supporters, passive agreement from some and fervent dedication from others.  Shueman and Co. were done with the stunts for the time being, and returned to spouting hateful rhetoric mixed with thoughtful, if baseless argument.  Frisk did well in school, having been allowed a lot of slack due to her schedule.  Her job took priority over her education, at least for the time being.  Meanwhile, Asriel was merely a passenger, shying away from the spotlight as much as possible, keeping his grades up and spending his free time hovering around Frisk.  Sans and Toriel continued with their almost-but-not-quite-a-couple thing, neither really willing to actually talk about making it official.

\--

_ Alone No More will resume partway through Asriel and Frisk’s junior year of high school. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why am I doing this? Simply put, I'm out of ideas. I had things I wanted to write in the months following the barrier's destruction, and stuff I want to write for when they (Frisk/Azzie) are teenagers. Nothing in between. So, I'm just skipping the in between. This doesn't mean we're back to weekly updates, but we're probably back to better-than-monthly.
> 
> So my crush texted me the other day. "When did you turn into the one eyed sailor?" Then corrected herself. "Ahem, I mean the Cyclops sailor." It doesn't make much more sense in context. Yeah. It's something of an inside joke between us, but... I'm kinda wondering if anyone here has paid enough attention to things I've said about myself in the past to figure it out? Doubt it, even if you caught the little bit of info I'm referring to you probably wouldn't figure it out, but... meh, whatever.
> 
> Thanks for reading, you all rock.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Years have passed since the last chapter--  
> Frisk and Asriel are now 16.

Oh… oh my god…

**Greetings, Frisk**

What… what are you doing here?

**I only wish to talk.  Is that unreasonable?**

Yes!  Yes it is!  I… What are… how... 

**I believe you are confused.**

I am.  I don’t know… why you came back… why now… and why… just what do you want from me?

**I think you know that, Frisk.**

No I don’t.

**You need not lie.  You are safe with me.  You can talk to me.  Confide in me.**

No, no I don’t know.

**You know that’s not true.**

I… I won’t say it.

**You’ve been thinking about it haven’t you been?**

No…

**It is reasonable, Frisk.  It would be the proper course of action.**

You’re insane.

**Sanity is a self-inflicted restriction plaguing the dull-minded.**

…

**…**

Why now?

**Because you have failed.  Your “friends” have failed.  And you are just now realizing it.**

No.  No one has failed, I don’t know what you’re-

**I said before, you need not lie.  It does not work on me.**

Let me leave.

**You may leave whenever you want, but you will never separate yourself from me.**

Don’t say that.

**Right.  I need not reiterate facts of which you are well aware, now do I?**

...fine.  But I won’t...

**It’s an option.  Consider it.**

\--

Frisk’s eyes darted open.  A blurry mess of light slowly found clarity-  _ 3:36 AM _ .  Putting her face in her hands, she sat up, thinking about what she could have sworn was not a dream.  Whatever it was, though, it freaked her out, as her sheets and clothes were drenched in her own sweat.   _ Gross, _ she thought, before standing up and stumbling over to the light switch.  The wetness of her clothes and cold breeze coming through the window made for an unsavory chill as she flicked the light on.  A shower would help.  Clear her thoughts, warm her up, help her relax…

Partway to the bathroom, she stopped.  To her right was a door into another room.  She thought about entering and talking to him.  That would probably help her more than anything.  But… they both needed the sleep.  She proceeded into the bathroom, and into the shower.

What was it about the shower that made it so soothing?  Maybe it was the noise.  Or the solitude.  Maybe even being naked.  Or some combination of it all.

She ran shampoo through her hair, now longer than shoulder length- but only by a bit.  Reaching the shampoo in the first place was always an issue; it was stored on a shelf in the shower  _ almost  _ out of reach for her rather modest height.  She then drew the bar of soap down her body- down her arms, down her legs, about her chest and stomach….  Her chest was a tad smaller than she would have liked, as was her stomach.  Most had issues overeating- Frisk had issues undereating.  She just had no appetite while stressed, which was a problem for someone who was  _ always  _ stressed.

Oh well.  She probably wasn’t quite done growing at 16.

Attempts to keep her thoughts on what was immediately at hand were threatening to fail.  She’d rather think about hot water and bubbles than that… thing.  The thing that had spoken to her many nights in a row now.  The thing that was clearly her enemy.  The thing that wanted to take over.  The thing that… made a lot of sense… made a lot of good points… and…

The realization that she was ankle-deep in standing water could not have come sooner.  It was a problem she had to deal with.  White fur constantly occupying every drain in the house, so that the sinks and showers filled with water whenever used.  This served as her que to step out.

A few moments later, the almost-dry Frisk made her towel-wrapped walk back to her room, where she would try to get some rest.  All she could do was hope that the little droplets of water barely seen falling to the carpet in the dim light would dry before they bothered anyone in the morning.  She forgot about this, however, when she was confronted by a tall, horned, fanged monster.

“Hey,” said Asriel, casually leaning against his bedroom door.

“Oh… hey.  Didn’t know you were up.”

“Well, I wasn’t.  Not ‘till now.  But the walls are thin.  I could hear the water rushing through the pipes and it woke me up.”

“Oh, I’m sorry…”

“Nah, Frisk, you’re… you’re good.  Actually, I, uh… uhh…”

“Yes?”

“Just, I… gee, Frisk, I…”

“Asriel, come on!  We need to get to sleep, both of us.  I know we can sleep in, but I’d rather not this time.  Not if I can get a decent sleep tonight.”

“Seems a little late for that anyway.  But… you’re right.  Sorry I bugged you.  Good night.”

“Good night…”

Asriel didn’t close the door to his room, and Frisk didn’t return to hers.  Their eyes found fascination with their feet, and the apparent lack of mobility of both pairs.  Utter silence, apart from the occasional abnormally loud breath.  Neither moved, neither spoke.  They just stood.  And they stood until some unexplainable force finally drew them to their respective beds an indeterminate amount of time later.

\--

Downstairs, a round figure occupied one end of the couch, the dim blue light of a laptop illuminating his grim face.  Skeletal fingers tapped away at the keyboard with impressive speed, small white eyes constantly revising the message to assure it will be perfect when finally sent.  This was a message he’d been dreading having to write.  It wasn’t even a bad one; he just didn’t want to do it.  That said, it was something of a break after what had previously occupied his mind.

He was tired of seeing his people restrained to these cities.  Places where monsters gathered that became like unofficial reservations, where monsters and humans could coexist happily, places where they enjoyed equal rights and equal freedoms.  These places were wonderful and rather large, but they were few and far between.  The vast majority of monsters had made their lives in less hospitable areas.  Places where they’d be discriminated against.  Where best-case-scenario was unequal pay and occasional harassment, and worst was constant fear for life.

Interestingly, this duality of environment was not brought upon by politics or government, rather, mere social atmosphere.  There were still no human laws that directly affected monsters positively or negatively; what monsters could and could not legally do was more dictated by what the locals felt monsters should or should not be able to do than was actually legal.  Some places gave monsters total freedom, like where they lived, not too far from what was once the barrier.  Some places treated monsters like animals, quite literally.  But most were somewhere in between; from systematic oppression to restriction of uniquely monster rights (for example, in some places monsters could not use magic because humans could not use magic).

The abuse the less-fortunate had to put up with was bad enough, but worse was the fighting.  Full-blown riots hardly happened, but smaller scuffles were an accepted part of life.  Usually someone ended up in the hospital.  Sometimes someone died.

The only reason there had not been a second human/monster war, he theorized, was that there were so many humans on their side.  People like Frisk and her followers.  People who actively or passively fight for decent treatment of monsters everywhere, not just in a few places.  In fact, now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure more of these little scuffles were between opposing humans rather than a monster and a human.  Was that good or bad?  He didn’t know.

But what he did know was that he hadn’t slept for a good while which was an issue he wanted to fix as quickly as possible.  But there was something important he wanted to do first.  In a flash, he was at his own home; a small apartment several stories up in a skyscraper in the big city.  Only a few miles away from where he just was.  Of course, he didn’t really think of it as his home.  He never slept there, never ate there.  Really this was just a place he could think, be alone, and hide things from others.  In this case, he was retrieving something hidden from Papyrus- though, as of morning, it would be hidden no longer.  He pulled it out of his closet and, after hastily wrapping, labeling, and slapping a bow on it, teleported himself with the object to the foot of his brother’s bed.  He set it on the floor and, after taking a moment to admire the younger sibling, teleported back to the couch for some much-needed shut-eye.

\--

Asriel was awoken by a weight on his face.  Instinctively, he brought his hand up to shove it away, but stopped upon opening his eyes and realizing what it was.

“Rags?  Ugh, Rags, I’m… I’m tired!  I don’t wanna play!”

The little white dog called Rags continued to paw at his owner, expecting a bit more attention.

“You know what?  Fine.”  Asriel sat up and grabbed the ball that he kept on his nightstand.  Without looking, he tossed it in some random direction, causing the dog to leap from his lap and track the thing down.  It only took a second, but it was enough time for Asriel to stand up and evaluate his surroundings.  Clock, bed, computer, posters.  It was his room.  Sunlight.  It was morning.  Noise from downstairs.  Everyone else was up.

Rags dropped the ball at Asriel's feet and barked quietly.  Asriel leaned down and picked it up, bringing it over to his window and dropping it outside, in the snow.  He then walked over to his door and opened it, allowing the dog to scamper down the stairs, presumably headed outside to retrieve the ball once again.  Finally, the man had some peace.  He knew it would be short-lived, it always was.  There was always something requiring his attention, or at least disturbing his moments of alone time.  Like yelling parents or teleporting skeletons.  He took a moment to reflect on this, head in his hands as he tried to stave off a headache.

After hastily throwing on a shirt, he made his way downstairs to find perhaps the last thing he wanted to see:  _ everyone _ .  Undyne and Toriel in the kitchen, Alphys and Sans talking on the couch, Frisk transporting spools of wrapping paper from the car outside to a table.  Unsurprisingly, Sans spoke first.

“what’s up, sleepy head?”

“Good morning to you too.”

“hey, lighten up kid.  it’s pap’s birthday!  how d’ya think he’d feel if you went over there all down?”

“He’d go overboard trying to make him feel better,” commented Frisk as she passed.  “Which, Azzie, can be your birthday present to him.  I’m sure he’d love that.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” said Asriel, “but I think I’ll find something for him at the store.  I don’t wanna be creative today.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just don’t feel great, that’s all.”

“Aww, I’m sorry.  Just let me know if I can do anything for you, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah… thanks.”

By now the two were standing face to face, smiling at each other reassuringly.  Their eyes kept locked on each other, until a little squeak from Alphys got their attention.  They turned to find the woman with her face mostly hidden by her hands, her eyes poking out slightly, a wide grin poorly concealed beneath her claws.  “Yes, Alphys?” said Frisk.

“Oh!  N- nothing.  It’s just that… ohhh, I shouldn’t say anything.  Except… m- maybe… I… I’m going to talk to Undyne real quick.”  She got up and bolted for the kitchen, pulling Undyne down so that she could reach her partner’s ear.  There was rapid whispering, then quiet giggling from both.  Frisk and Asriel looked on with confusion.

“...anyway,” Sans said, “it’s probably best if you  _ actually  _ get dressed, az.  even if you are sick or something.”

“Yeah, I will.  Just gimme a minute, okay?”

“sure.”  Sans reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be the minute hand of a clock, holding it out to Asriel.

“What- where- how did you-?  Never mind.”  Asriel, refusing to take the object, looked back to Frisk, whose face was horribly contorted as she lost the battle to retain her laughter.  “Oh come on, really?  It wasn’t even that good a joke…”

They were interrupted by a little canine voice from below.  Rags had returned, the ball on the floor at his feet.  “Ohh, hey Rags!  How you doin’, boy?”  She picked the dog up and brought its face to the level of hers.  The dog did what could best be described as a smile, barking happily and wagging his tail wildly.  “Gee, Frisk,” Asriel said, “I swear my dog likes you more than he likes me.”

“you know, they say that pets are reflections of their owners.”

The prince turned to Sans.  “What do you mean by that?”

“nothin.  Just, uh, if your dog’s all happy and stuff, then you might have a good day after all, right?”

Asriel sighed.  “Sure, I guess…”

“ASRIEL!”  Toriel’s voice came from the kitchen, clearly in need of assistance.  She probably needed him for cooking purposes.  “Coming!” he responded, leaving Sans to himself as Frisk had gone off to play with Rags outside.

Preparations for Papyrus’s birthday party continued without a hitch.  Food turned out perfect, everyone had their gifts properly arranged, and it was almost time to depart.  They’d even convinced Asgore to take a break from his horrible schedule to make a brief appearance.  All they had to do now was all go over to Papyrus’s house and have a good time.  And they did.  Papyrus loved everything he got (including a box of several random posters found in a discount bin from Sans, chocolates from Undyne and Alphys, and a series of bone-themed screwdrivers and other tools from Frisk; he’d been having a handiwork sort of phase), and he even approved of the cake, even though there was no spaghetti in it whatsoever.

After a bit of time celebrating, they all went to their respective homes and promptly fell asleep.  And stayed asleep.  For the most part.

\--

**Do not deny it.**

Do not deny what?

**You know.**

No I don’t.

**None of this has happened the way you wanted it to.  There are countless deaths of human and monster alike on your hands.  There are millions who live joyless lives because of you.  Because you failed.  Are these not things that bother you?**

No, I didn’t… I didn’t fail.  Things are bad, but they can get better.  I know it.  I just-

**Conditions have only deteriorated in the years you have been playing this little game.  You know this.**

Okay… things have gotten worse, yes, but that doesn’t mean...

**Doesn’t mean what?**

I shouldn’t… do that.  I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t be listening to you at all!!

**Perhaps you are right.  Yet, here you are.**

I don’t want to be here with you!  I want to leave!

**You cannot escape your own head.  I am permanent.**

No… no…

**I have established residence here.  It is not ideal.  But we may still work together, like we once did.**

No… shut… up…

**Do you remember that?  Do you remember the power?  We did not reach the absolute during our previous attempt.  But, if I am not mistaken, you can go back.  We can try again.  And this time, we can-**

SHUT UP!!  SHUT UP NOW!!!

**You are incensed because you know I am right, and you cannot accept it.**

…

**...**

Okay… fine.  I’ll humor you for a second.  Say… say I  _ did _ decide to….  How would that help me achieve my goal?

**Your goal is to help monsters, is it not?  Come with me, and I shall guide you to a world where they do not hurt.  A world where they do not feel sadness or anguish.  Is this not your goal?**

Not your version of it.  Your version of ‘no sadness’ is… is death!

**Life, death, they are pointless concepts.  In death I have more power than I did in life.  Alas, it is still not enough.  That is why I need you to help me.  Would you do that?  Would you help me, Frisk?**

...No.  Never.

**Never?  Hee hee hee… I told you, Frisk.  You don’t need to lie to me.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> So, yeah, I did do the whole time skip thingy. I actually have ideas for this time period, so I figured, fuck it, why not?  
> I have college essays to revise and calculus to do and normal essays to write and I did this instead. YA HAPPY?
> 
> Thanks for reading. Comments and kudos are really encouraging.  
> You rock.


	21. Chapter 21

**It’s a simple task.  You have done it before.**

Yes.  I have.

**And you will do it again.**

No.  I won’t.

**But you have failed.**

Yes.  I have.

**You finally admit that your efforts have been misguided?**

Misguided?  No.

**Even for a noble cause, effort toward an impossible end is misguided, is it not?**

I don’t know, and I don’t care.

**Look at this logically.  Time has only made things worse.  There is no sign of improvement.  With each passing day, you stray further and further from your goal.  Yet you persist.**

Of course I do.  I have to.

**Why?**

I made a promise.

**Promises can be broken.**

They shouldn’t be.

**It is the nature of a promise to be broken.**

It is the point of them not to be.

**Then they really are pointless, aren’t they?**

…

**Frisk, you know what we must do.**

…

**You say you have not.  But you have considered it.**

...I… I have.

**And you have determined that it must be your next move?**

...I…

**No?  Very well.  It will come with time.  I am sure of it.**

...Chara…

**You remember my name?  I am flattered.**

You… don’t… can’t… really…

**I can’t force you to do anything.  I am merely trying to help you see truth.  I am merely trying to help you become strong.**

I don’t want strength or… or power.  I just want my friends to be happy.

**You have experienced it before.  Don’t you remember that feeling?  That satisfaction of gaining power, and exhibiting it upon others?**

No…

**You do remember it.**

No, no, I…

**Hee hee hee… I knew you would.  Now tell me.  Do you want that feeling again?**

\--

Again.  Again she woke up covered in sweat.  At this rate the loose tank top she usually slept in would be quickly ruined.  Two weeks straight, was it?  Every time it was a little clearer.  Every time it was a little more frightening.  Every time she woke up, her heart beat a little faster and she found herself a little more panicked.  This time she had fallen out of bed.

“Frisk?  Frisk, is that you in there?”  Asriel’s voice was usually a welcome one, but at that moment, she didn't want to hear anything at all.

“Yeah, Az, it’s me.”

“Oh… well, could you let me in?”

“Why?”

“...because I need to go to bed…”

“Why the hell would you go to bed in here?”  Why’d she say that?  She didn't mean to come off so cross.

“Because it’s my room.  And you locked the door.”

Frisk was ready to aggressively correct him, but looking around, she found that he was right.  Somehow, she had fallen asleep in _his_ room, and woken up at 11PM.  She didn't remember even entering it in the first place.  Frisk immediately stumbled to her feet, marching toward the door, opening it to find a friendly smile on Asriel’s face, one that quickly faded as his eyes scanned her appearance.

“Frisk… are you okay?”

“I'm fine.”

“You don't look-”

“I said I'm fine.”

And with that, she stormed into her own room, locking it, and freezing just on the other side of the door.  Why was she so rude to him?  She didn't want to be.  It just kind of… happened.  Glancing at a nearby mirror she decided that he was right.  She didn't look fine.  Her hair was grizzled, she had a tired yet angry look in her eye, and her short was still soaked with sweat.  You could see through it a little.  She half hoped he didn't notice.  She half hoped he did.

Clutching her hair, she threw herself in bed.  She needed to sleep.  She didn't want to, but she needed to.  So much work, so little time, if she didn't take every opportunity she could to rest, she’d go insane.  Unfortunately she thought she was going insane anyway.  Oh well.  Chara had already visited her that night, maybe Frisk would he left alone at least until morning.

\--

Morning.

“Hey mom?”

“Yes, my son?”

“Do you think… uh…”

“Yes?”

“Do you think Frisk is okay?”

Toriel, who was doing dishes, dropped the plate and sponge in the sink and shut the water off.  “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just… she’s been acting kind of weird recently…”

“Yes, she has, hasn’t she been…”

“Yeah, and I… I dunno.  She doesn't seem herself.  Like… she’s kind of mean, to be honest.  And… I just don't know.  She won't talk to me.  I’ve been really worried.”

“Perhaps it’s normal.  I hear human teenagers tend to be a little moody.”

“But not Frisk, right?”

“Well… not so far.  Who knows?  You see her more than I do, your guess is probably better than mine.”  Toriel turned back to her dishes.

“What is your guess, through?”

“I don't know… perhaps it is a boy?”

“God, I hope not.”

“Why would you say that?”

_WHY WOULD I SAY THAT?_

“Oh, uh, I dunno, just-”

Asriel froze as Frisk passed right in front of him, seemingly unaware of the presence of her family or the conversation they were having.  She didn't seem aware of anything.  She marched right in between Asriel and Toriel, grabbed her car keys on the other side of the room, and marched back, saying in a hoarse voice “I'm going out” as she did so.

“Frisk,” Asriel said, “Did you sleep at all?”  She didn't respond.

In the living room, Frisk continued to walk toward the door, not even slowing down when Sans (who was on the couch, reading a book) spoke to her.

“hey kiddo-”

“Fuck off.”

“you too bud.  hey tori, frisk used the f-word!”

Frisk just walked through the door and slamming it behind her.

Outside, she, as always, regretted acting like a bitch.  She knew that she shouldn’t.  She had no reason to.  These were people she loved.  But… it just came out time after time.  She wasn’t sure whether this change in her behavior was gradual or sudden, but she did know others around her noticed it before she did.  At least she thought.  It was more a blur than anything else.

Was she really going a hundred miles per hour?  She didn’t even realize she got into the car.  ‘Tis the problem with the fancy blue supercar Mettaton got her when she was younger.  Far too easy to gas it a little too much and end up in a tree.  Luckily, she hadn’t hit a tree yet, and there weren’t any other cars around to crash into.  Another day alive by virtue of dumb luck.

After a few minutes of straight-line speeding, she began to wonder why she left the house in the first place.  There was nothing for her to do.  She had the day off.  No errands, no school, nothing at all.  Yet the ineffable had drawn her miles now away from her home.  She decided it would be best to turn around.  Before she did however, there was a little ding followed by a little light on the dashboard- low fuel.  The nearest gas station was a short way ahead.  She’d keep going.

Refueling went off without a hitch, aside from mild hesitation regarding price ($2.78 a gallon?!).  She put the nozzle of the pump in the car.  She squeezed the handle and watched the numbers on the pump’s display rapidly rise.  She stopped when the price reached $20.00, and put the nozzle back into position.  Little things.  Basic things.  Anything to keep her mind in the moment.

Chocolate.  Suddenly she wanted chocolate, rather badly.

 _Why not?_ she thought.   _They’re cheap and I can use the calories_.

So she strode into the obligatory gas station convenience store and found her way to the little candy aisle.  Impressive selection, considering the size of the shop.  In fact, the shop as a whole was impressive.  Well-lit, clean, with an oddly friendly atmosphere.  But that didn’t help her pick out a chocolate bar.  Crunch bars, Kit Kats, the standard fare, along with the more expensive Lindt and Dove selections, as well as a few rather suspicious looking brands she’d never seen before.  In the end, she decided to go with a standard milk chocolate Hershey’s bar.  Utterly unadulterated.  Just chocolate.

She walked up to the counter, where a smiling human lady was waiting to serve her.  “Hi, how are you?” Frisk began, as she always did when talking to cashiers and whatnot.  The lady hardly had time to open her mouth before a tall creature in a trenchcoat pushed Frisk aside and dropped his purchases on the counter.

“Hey,” said the lady, “She was here first!  You have to wait.”

“Can you just do your thing,” the creature said, in a gruff voice.

“You can make your purchase after this fine lady does.  I’m sorry, sir, but you have to-”

“Fine lady?”  The creature turned to Frisk and eyed her up and down.  Made her a little uncomfortable.  But worse was the creature’s actual appearance.  He was a slimy, dark-gray-green squid monster.  At least, squid was what jumped to mind.  Really, he didn’t look like anything.  “This ain’t no fine lady.”

“I’m sorry,” said the cashier, “but I am not going to serve you until you apologize to her and let her make her purchase!”

“Then no deal,” he responded, gathering up his things.  “I ain’t apologizing to this kid.  Don’t you know who she is?”

“Well, she looks vaguely familiar, but-”

“She’s the damn ‘ambassador’ for monsters.  Least, that’s what they call her.  Last I checked, an ambassador does things, this bitch doesn’t do jack shit.”

The cashier was silent, searching for a response.  After a moment, Frisk opened her mouth, and both others turned to her.  This sparked another comment from the monster.  “What, you gonna correct me?  Gonna tell me all the good you’ve done?  Ambassadors are supposed to make it so people can talk to other people easier, right?  Without bad blood.  Oh, sure, in your world all that’s fine, but it don’t make no difference where I’m from.  You know my brother?  Course you don’t.  You know why?  He got shot.  By a human.  Few towns from here.  Been in the hospital ever since, and I know he ain’t coming back.  So don’t bullshit me about your politics or whatever, because that ain’t working.  So you might as well just be sitting on your ass all day.  So…” he turned back to the cashier.  “No, I ain’t gonna apologize to her.  Cause she’s promised an awful lot.  And a lot of monsters believed in her.  Including my brother.  And look where it got him.”

They all stood in silence for a moment.  The monster stared deliberately at Frisk, and frisk looked back at him with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.  It took a short piece of forever, but eventually the words quietly, timidly left her lips.  “I’m sorry.”

The monster shook his head.  “Well, that won’t get you nowhere neither.”

The monster left the store, still holding his unpurchased items.  The cashier made no movement to stop him. “Umm…” Frisk said, turning to the stunned shop attendant, “Thanks for sticking up for me.”

“You’re, um…”  The cashier trailed off, utterly clueless.  She still didn’t say anything when Frisk too left with a stolen chocolate bar.

Back in the car, Frisk decided to pull her phone out of her pocket (after stuffing her face full of chocolate, of course).  She opened her browser and went to her favorite local news site.  Scrolling through stories, skimming the thumbnails, she eventually found one from roughly two weeks ago with a picture of a similar squid monster with slightly lighter skin.  The title read, _Monster shot, critically injured in unprovoked human attack._  The article was no more uplifting.  The monster’s name was Mothees, a known optimist, well liked, allegedly something of an ambassador in and of himself.  Only a couple of years older than Frisk.  One day, he was just walking down the street, and shots rang out from an unknown location.  Next thing he knew, there was a hole in his gut, and he passed out.  Bystanders called an ambulance, and he was taken to a nearby hospital, then taken to a more intensive one after the first night.  St. Bartleby’s hospital, not too far from where Frisk was sitting at that very moment.  

Now she had a task.

\--

“checkmate.”

“Come on, really?  You can’t do that!”

“yes you can.”

Asriel looked over the instruction booklet again.  “Damnit, yes you can.  How are you so good at chess?”

They were sitting across from each other at the dimly-lit kitchen table, a game board in between them.

“i’m not, i’m just playing against someone who’s bad at chess.”

“Well I’ve never played before.”

“exactly.”

“Why did you wanna teach me this in the first place?”

“i didn’t.  but if i said ‘hey, azzie, can we talk about why frisk is going crazy in excruciating detail,’ would you?”

“I mean… I’d kind of have to.”

Sans shrugged.  “well, chess is good to know anyway.  but fun time’s over.  let’s talk about girls.”

“Please don’t put it that way.”

“okay, then let’s talk about the girl who’s pretty much your sister who you’re also attracted to even though she’s a different species-”

“Okay, stop, you can go back to just ‘girls.’”

“sure.  anyway, i just have a couple of questions.  that okay?”

“If they don’t contain the word ‘attracted,’ then sure.”

“how long ago did she start acting weird?”

“I dunno, like a week?  A little more, I think.”

“has she had any weird dreams or anything?”

“She hasn’t said.  Really she hasn’t talked to me much at all, which is weird.”

“yeah, that’s why i came to you.  cause she talks to you more than anyone.  anyway... aside from her general bitchiness, has there been anything else weird with her?”

“Well she fell asleep in my bed last night.”

Sans raised what would be his eyebrows, and Asriel realized his mistake.  “No!  That’s not what I-”

“still can’t use the word attracted?”

“No!  Next question!”

“have _you_ had any strange dreams or anything?”

“No, why?”

“just a theory.”

“What’s the theory?”

“theories are ideas meant to define how or why something happens based purely on educated thought without empirical experimental evidence proving it true.”

“Sans… you know what I mean.”

“that doesn’t mean i have to tell you what i mean.”

“Fine, whatever, we’re done here.”

“wait, i haven’t asked you about your favorite guacamole yet!”

“Is it important?”

“no!”

Asriel, frustrated, stood and departed for his room.

\--

“He’s right in here…”

“Thank you.”

Frisk bode the nurse goodbye, and creeped into the hospital room.  White curtains, white light, and, most disturbingly, a white patient.  Not the gray-green of the picture, or of his brother.  A pale, unhealthy white.  She got a little closer.  He seemed dry and flakey, almost like his skin was made out of corn flakes that could come off at any moment.  Little particles of dust lay about the room, and some were suspended in air above the patient.  The patient who looked like if someone touched him, he would crumble.  Waste away, become dust in the wind.  It was a gruesome sight.  Perhaps even worse than what she’d seen in Alphys’ lab.

Maybe the brother was right.  She hadn’t done anything.  If people were still ending up like this…

She really had failed.

A wave of… something hit her.  She got very sleepy, very quickly.  She tried to turn out of the room, but she could not stay on her feet much longer.  Deciding to bite the bullet, she sat down in the nearest chair and fell asleep immediately.

\--

**You didn’t answer me before, Frisk.  Do you want that feeling again?**

...of course I do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to end on a sad note. It's only gonna get worse for the next two chapters, though. But stuff will happen. Just see this story arc through before you decide to abandon the story.
> 
> Anyway, merry Christmas, even though it's not really Christmas anymore. Or happy whatever you do. Festivus, right?  
> My parents got me a Casio CTK 6200 and FL Studio Signature Edition, which, as an aspiring composer, is FUCKING AWESOME.
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are really encouraging.  
> You rock.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...

**You need to wake up now.**

But I’m tired.

**You need to wake up, Frisk.  You cannot sleep in the hospital forever.**

I’m very tired.   _ You’ve _ kept me up a lot the past couple of weeks and now I’m going to sleep.

**The nurses shall rouse you if I cannot.**

Chara, I want to sleep.

**We have work to do.**

I know we do.  Can I not rest first?

**No you cannot.**

Okay, I’ll wake up now.

**Thank you.**

\--

Frisk’s eyes fluttered open in the most peaceful awakening in recent memory.  The first thing she noticed was her odd environment.  She didn’t remember why she was in a hospital room, though she was thankful she was not the patient.  The patient looked bad.

**Now, Frisk.  Are you ready?**

“What?  Where…”

Frisk whipped her head about trying to find the source of the voice.  Alas, it could not be found.  “Where are you?”

**I am always with you.  I have always been with you.**

“No, not when I’m awake.”

**I have not been able to talk to you while you are conscious until now.**

“Why now?”

**Because you are letting me.**

Frisk did not process this information; she didn’t need to. It was fact, she knew it.  She didn’t even know why she asked.  She took a moment to gather herself.  She was standing in a hospital room with a dying monster, a total stranger, and Chara had established residence in her head.  It was late afternoon, which, since it was winter, was almost sundown.

**Now, Frisk.  We have work to do.**

She nodded, pulling her coat more tightly around herself as she turned to leave the hospital room.

**No, no.  We have work to do here.**

“Here?”

**You have killed that monster.**

Frisk turned back to the gruesome creature on the hospital bed, remaining silent for just a moment.  “I did?” she asked, sounding curious rather than disbelieving.

**Your actions have led to his death.  Almost.**

“Almost?”

**You must finish the job.**

It took a moment for her to understand, but when she did, she immediately walked to the monster’s side.  A number of devices were connected to him.  Little tubes and wires leading to various machines.  All plugged into one exposed socket.

**You are hesitant.**

“Why?”

**Because I am telling you to.**

“Why are you telling me to?  You want me to reset anyway, right?  Why does it matter?”

**You must show me that you have truly accepted that I am correct.  That this is the proper course of action.  I want to know you’re ‘on my side,’ so to speak, before you reset.  Should you reset and revert to your previous flawed behavior, my efforts will have been as meaningless as yours.**

“Okay.”

She hadn’t even noticed that her arm had stretched halfway to the socket, her hand open, waiting to grasp the cables.  There she remained, frozen, for at least a minute, listening to the tick-tock of the clock on the wall.  Then her hand started to shake.  She did not know why.  Her mind was devoid of all but the simplest thoughts, the most prevalent among them being one single word:  _ don’t _ .  Yet she could feel something egging her on.  She knew she should do it.  Why shouldn’t she?  This thing was going to die anyway, sooner or later.  But still…  _ don’t _ .  The shake in her arm only grew more intense, until she could do nothing but look at it and wait for it to do something.  Anything.  Proceed.  Retract.  Anything but shake.  Shaking was tiring.  This went on for at least another minute, until her arm stopped shaking, and she uttered, “No.”

**No?**

“I’m sorry.”

Frisk pulled her arm away, and half-sprinted out of the room, down the halls that would lead to the exit of the hospital, dodging around the people in her way who were just trying to go about their business.

**You are making a mistake.**

“No.”

**You still must reset.**

She stopped in her tracks in front of the hospital cafeteria, staring forward, earning concerned glances from patients and staff alike.  She shut her eyes, tight, and shook her head vigorously.  A nurse approached her, asking whether she was okay, but Frisk didn’t even notice.  She pulled her coat on even tighter and continued forward.

Outside.  Snow.  Dying light.  Car.  Her car was blue.  The driver’s door was on the left.  The car was in park.  She put it in drive. She drove away.  The roads were gray.  There was ice.  Ice is slippery.  She continued driving.  She could slip.  She didn’t.  She continued driving.  She had to reset.  She turned right at a stoplight.  There was a restaurant.  Restaurants sell food.  She was hungry.  She wanted food.  She had to reset.  She continued driving.  The sun was setting.  The sky looked cool.  There was snow.  It was winter.  There was snow.  She had to reset.  She continued driving.  She continued driving.  She continued driving.  She got home.  She stopped the car.  She had to reset.  She walked inside.  She had to reset.  She sat on the couch.  She had to reset.  She tried to clear her mind.  She had to reset.  The TV was on.  She had to reset.  She had to reset.  She had to reset.  She had to rest.  She had to rest.  She could not rest.  She had to reset.

\--

“Hey, Frisk.  Where’d you go?”  Asriel approached his friend from the staircase, speaking the moment he saw her.  She was not the type to disappear for a whole day without clearing it with her mother first, with a week’s notice and fifty pounds of paperwork.  So her absence made Asriel most curious.  “Frisk?  What’s going on?”  The young woman simply refused to acknowledge his existence, even when he walked right in front of her.  “Friiiisk?  Helllloooooo?”  He waved his hand in front of her face, but she didn’t budge.  Not even a twitch.  She just stared forward with an empty, vapid expression, apparently endlessly fascinated with the terrible sitcom displayed in front of her.  “Frisk, are you okay?  Seriously.  Please.  Are you okay?”  Then he really began to worry.  “Frisk?  Please… please talk to me.”  He walked directly in front of her and bent down so they were at eye level with each other.  “Frisk…”  He put a hand on her shoulder.  “Frisk, please tell me you’re okay.”  There was something of a shake in his voice, betraying his attempts to appear as calm as possible.

Guessing at what the proper course of action would be, he gave her a little shake.  It didn’t work, so he pulled his hand away, afraid that touching her any more might make it worse.  “Frisk, I’ll… I’ll go get mom.”  But just before he turned away, he caught a little bit of movement out of the corner of his eye.  Frisk blinked.  And she continued to blink, rather rapidly for a moment, then her muscles relaxed a bit, and her face went from expressionless to curious.  It was a face Asriel had never seen in her before, one he couldn’t quite place.  But he decided he liked it.  And he liked seeing it close up, his eyes mere inches from hers.  There was something in her eyes.  A little spark.  A bright, happy little spark that seemed to grow a little brighter when she finally opened her mouth.  “...Asriel?”

“Yeah, Frisk, it’s me!  What- what do you need?  Do you need help?  Do you want me to call someone?  Just tell me what to do!”

He continued looking into her eyes, growing a little more anxious and a little more engaged with each passing moment.  That spark just continued to grow.  Then, in a flash, it disappeared.

**He trusts you.**

“I know.”

“Frisk, who are you talking to?”

**He would be an easy target.**

Her eyes went wide for a split second, then she shoved Asriel away and stood up.  He stumbled backward, confused and a little hurt.  “Frisk… what'd I do?  Did I hurt you?  I’m sorry, I-”  He cut himself off when she put her face in her hands.  “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice hoarse and muffled.  “Asriel, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.  Just tell me what you need.”

**You can do it, Frisk.**

“No, I can’t… I can’t…”

“Frisk, it’s okay, it’s okay…”  He approached to comfort her, but she just shoved him away again.

“Asriel, I’m sorry, I have to, I’m sorry.”

Asriel stood.  He’d never seen her like this.  It was like she was a completely different person.  A very, very broken person.  He couldn’t leave her.  He certainly couldn’t do that.  But what could he do?

**He is just another person you’ve failed.  You wish for him to be happy.  He cannot be happy until his people, the monsters, are happy.  He will be king one day, after all.  Thus, you have failed him.  You have failed him like you have failed everyone else and that is why you must reset.  That is why these people’s lives are meaningless.  That is why I am right.**

“...I… but…”

**You agree with me.**

“...yes…”

**Then you must reset.  There is nothing stopping you.**

Asriel tried to approach Frisk again, more slowly this time, with a hand stretched out.  But this time, she yelled at him.  “JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!!”

“Okay, okay.  I’m sorry.  I’m, uh… I’ll go get mom.”  And with that, Asriel scampered upstairs, returning moments later with now panicking mother.  But they found the room empty.  Frisk was not to be found.

\--

Cold.  Wet.  Slippery.  Snow.  There was snow.  And Ice.  And it was cold.  She could slip.  She didn’t.  She continued walking.  The streets weren’t busy.  There were not many cars.  There were not many people.  She continued walking.  Her coat was thin.  It was cold.  She was shivering.  She continued walking.  She turned a corner.  She crossed the street.  The light said ‘don’t walk’.  She continued walking.  She had to reset.  She continued walking.  She had to reset.  She had to rest.  She had to reset.  She could not rest.  She was tired.  She wanted to rest.  She wanted to stop walking.  She had to keep walking.  She could not stop walking.  It was cold.  She could not stop walking.  She had to reset.  She had to reset.  She could not reset.  She had to reset.  She could not reset.  She had to keep walking or she would reset.  She could not reset.  She had to keep walking.  She had to reset.  She wanted to rest.  Reset means rest.  Reset means doing everything again.  Reset means erasing her mistakes.  She had to reset.  She had to keep walking.  She could not rest.  She had to keep walking.  She could not reset.  She had to reset.

Trees.  White.  Brown.  Green.  Dead trees.  Evergreens.  Dirt.  Frozen fallen leaves.  Rocks.  Snow.  Deep snow.  Hills.  She had to keep walking.  It was hard to keep walking.  It was hard to keep walking uphill.  She had to keep walking.  She could not reset.  She could not reset.

She was almost there.  She had to keep walking.  She was almost there.  Rocks.  Trees.  She was almost there.  Cold.  She was almost there.  It was slippery.  She slipped.  She fell.  She got up.  She continued walking.  Walking meant she didn’t have to reset.  She had to reset.  She could not reset.  She had to make sure she didn’t reset.  She had to reset.  Walking meant she didn’t have to reset.  She had to reset.  She didn’t have to reset.  She had to keep walking.  She could not reset.  She had to reset.  She was almost there.

Rocks.  More rocks.  Low sun.  Bright sun.  Snow.  Obscured sun.  Rocks.  She had to reset.  She was there.  She had arrived.  She had to do it.  She had to do it.  She was going to do it.  Cold.  It was cold.  She was there.  She could not reset.  She had to jump.  She had to do it.  She had to jump.  She could not reset.  She could not reset.  She had to reset.  She had to reset.

She had to do it.  She could not reset.  She had to do it.  She did it.  She jumped.  She did not have to reset.  She was falling.  She did not have to reset.  She was scared.  She did not have to reset.  She thought she succeeded.  She did not have to reset.  She was cold.  She did not have to reset.  There were rocks.  They were moving fast.  She was falling.  She was falling at a really big rock.  There was snow.  A lot of snow.  She did not have to reset.  She was scared.  She was relieved.  She thought about her life.  She thought about her loved ones.  She had saved them.  She was relieved.  She did not have to reset.  She did not have to reset.

She did not reset.

\--

Asriel was rather uncomfortable.  Sitting in the same position for too long can drive a man insane, especially when that position pinched his left leg just enough to cause a little bit of pain.  Unable to tolerate it anymore, he stood up and approached the window at the front of the house.  The snow was getting heavy.  Not the worst he’d ever seen, but pretty darn bad.  It’d make driving pretty dangerous, so despite it all, he was glad Frisk didn’t take the car.  At least, he would be, if he thought it was a conscious decision.  He feared she was too far gone to really make any decision at all.  He tried to turn his attention to the TV.  Or his phone.  Or something.  But the voice of his mother, calling friend after friend as they told her that they hadn’t seen Frisk, was far to concerning.

He wanted to see her.  He wanted to see her okay.

After a moment of wistful thinking, Rags started to bark at the door.  “What is it, boy?” Asriel said, approaching his dog.  Rags just kept barking and barking, looking between Asriel and the door.  So Asriel opened it.  And Rags sprinted outside, almost getting lost in the snow, stopping next to Frisk’s car.  Then he started to bark again.  After a moment, Asriel sighed.  “You know what, that might not be such a bad idea….  Hey MOM!”

“Yes?” Toriel called from the other room.

“I’m going after her.”

“Asriel, the snow is horrible, and you are not the best driver in the world.”

“Well, we’re not gonna find her unless we look for her.  And not over the phone.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“I have a gut feeling.”

So Asriel found his winter jacket, refusing to put the hood up (he hated headwear of any sort), and, after coaxing Rags back inside, got into Frisk’s car.  She left the key.  She usually didn’t forget such things.

On the road, he was tempted to floor it.  It was a supercar, after all.  But, he’d certainly crash if he did.  The snow had gotten so bad, he couldn’t find a single other person daring enough to take to the streets in much more practical cars than his.  Conditions forced him to keep to a snail’s pace of twenty miles per hour at the most, even on fast roads.  He almost got stuck at a few points.  Thankfully he didn’t.

After reaching his destination, he took a moment to take in the scene.  It was beautiful.  The snow-covered trees, rustling a little in the breeze.  The sun, almost fully set, illuminating the world just enough through the clouds to give everything a surreal white shine.  But he had to move.  Even under his coat and all his fur, it was quite cold.  He tried to light a small magic flame, but his heart just wasn’t in it.  An odd thing, magic was.  Very dependent on the state of the user.

He trudged through the snow for a few minutes, the process a little longer than he remembered.  The wind began to get intense, blowing his ear into his face on occasion.  But that was okay.  So long as she was there.  He knew she was.  She had to be.

After a short while, he thought he saw footprints not quite filled in by the storm.  Small footprints, but not inhuman.  Someone with small feet; thus probably short and probably female.  Frisk was definitely there.  He sped into as close to a jog as he could manage.

At last, there she was.  Right where he expected.  The outlook.  Where, on a better day than this, you could look out and see everything.  The city.  The mountains.  Everything.  Nearby was their rock, where they used to sit together and talk after school.  They hadn’t done that in a while.  He missed that.

Through the storm, he could make out the silhouette of a person.  “FRISK!” he called out, attempting to break into a sprint, but stumbling.  From the ground, he looked up.  It was definitely her, he could just make out her distinctive hair and purple jacket.  But she did not turn around.  She continued forward, as if she didn’t hear him at all.  “FRISK!!” he called again, louder this time, trying to stand, but slipping.  He was able to right himself to a sitting position and wipe the snow out of his eyes just soon enough to see her step off of the cliff, disappearing down the sheer face of rock.

She didn’t slip.  She didn’t trip and fall.  She stepped off.  It was deliberate.

“Frisk?”  He first didn’t register what he saw.  Surely he just couldn’t see her through the storm.  Still unable to stand, he kept shouting.  “Frisk!  Frisk!  I’m here!  Talk to me please, I’m here!”  He only heard wind.  Loud wind.  And a distinct lack of a response.

It hit him like a truck.  He didn’t stand up.  How could he?  He almost wanted to sit there all night and freeze to death.  He didn’t want to live with this memory.  He had just witnessed Frisk’s suicide.

The usual questions crossed his mind.  Various forms of “Why?”  Why did she do it?  Why didn’t she talk to someone?  Why now?  Why here?  Why?  But nothing made sense.  He stopped noticing the ice and snow and cold.  He stopped noticing his tears freezing his fur to his face or the deafening wind or the sun going down.  Just nothing.  His mind was nothing.  Emptiness and pain.

...

What was he to do now?  Should he call someone?  Should he just leave?  He wanted to peek over the edge of the cliff, but he feared what he’d see too much.  He feared it might drive him to join her.  Figuring this was news best delivered face to face, he made his way back to the car.  He turned it on and sat in the driver’s seat.  Frisk had put a CD in the car’s stereo.  She was never as into music as he was, but when she found a group or song she liked, she usually became obsessed.  He sat there for a while, resting his head on the steering wheel as a very particular song began to play.

_ Nights in white satin _

_ Never reaching the end _

_ Letters I’ve written _

_ Never meaning to send _

_ Beauty I’d always missed _

_ With these eyes before _

_ Just what the truth is _

_ I can’t say anymore _

_ ‘Cause I love you _

_ Yes I love you _

_ Oh, how I love you _

_ Gazing at people _

_ Some hand in hand _

_ Just what I’m going through _

_ They can’t understand _

_ Some try to tell me _

_ Thoughts they cannot defend _

_ Just what you want to be _

_ You will be in the end _

_ And I love you _

_ Yes I love you _

_ Oh, how I love you _

_ Oh, how I love you _

_ Nights in white satin _

_ Never reaching the end _

_ Letters I’ve written _

_ Never meaning to send _

_ Beauty I’d always missed _

_ With these eyes before _

_ Just what the truth is _

_ I can’t say anymore _

_ ‘Cause I love you _

_ Yes I love you _

_ Oh, how I love you _

_ Oh, how I love you _

_ ‘Cause I love you _

_ Yes I love you _

_ Oh, how I love you _

_ Oh, how I love you _

\--

Sans tapped his fingers on the counter waiting for the microwave to do its thing.  What hot chocolate needs to heat for two whole minutes?  It’d boil away!

**Perhaps, he thought, it was a good thing.  She’d need something warm when she woke up. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know.  Just stick around for the next chapter.  I promise, like this one, it will come a lot sooner than usual; I don’t wanna keep you waiting too long.  And no, the story isn’t even close to over.  
> In case you live under a rock, or are excessively young, and don’t know what song Asriel was listening to, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2taTNiF26Fg  
> It’s one of my all-time favorites, a freaking masterpiece.  
> Thanks for reading, you rock.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know I do this a lot, but I didn't do those things writers do... editing? Revising? Actually reading the finished chapter? Yeah I didn't do any of that. So if it's shit, I'm sorry. But here you are, two whole weeks after I intended.

Asriel sat at the counter, his forehead glued to the wood surface.  He didn't want to get up.  He didn't care whether he was served.  He just… just… he didn't know.  Didn't know anything anymore.  Tell Toriel. And everyone else.  He’d have to.  He didn't want to.  He didn't even want to admit it happened himself.

_Frisk died.  Frisk jumped off a cliff.  Frisk died.  She’s gone._

Eventually, a faint crackling sound could be heard from above him, signaling him to look up anyway.  Grillby was nonchalantly wiping clean a glass while waiting to take his order.  “Uh, hi, give me a glass of scotch or something.”

“...you're a minor.”

“I'm also a prince and I don't care.”

Grillby continued cleaning the glass for a minute, his fiery self a little too bright a presence for Asriel’s taste at the moment.  But eventually he shrugged, disappearing behind the door only to appear a moment later with a glass of liquid nearly the color of Grillby himself.  He set it down in front of Asriel with a slightly-too-forceful clunk, causing one drop to spill onto the wood.  Asriel took a sip.  Then he grimaced and spit it back into his glass.  “People like this?” he remarked, a look of disgust on his face.  “Gimme, ugh… I dunno.  Never mind.  Thanks, Grillbz.”

Then Grillby walked away.  Again.  This time, he didn't come back for a while.  But Asriel didn't even notice.  Three hours had passed since he’d arrived at Grillby’s and it simultaneously felt like three minutes and three years.  Maybe he wouldn't get up.  Who would care, anyway?  She would care.  But she was gone.  He put his head down as the dinner crowd reached its peak, pressing his forehead against the counter for no more than a minute, yet even more hours had passed when he lifted it and looked around.  Sun was down.  Place was closed.  Chairs were up, table were wiped, lights were off.  Grillby was nowhere in sight.  In front of him lay three things: a key, a note reading _LOCK UP WHEN YOU’RE DONE_ , and an ice cream sundae, just a little melted.  

Asriel decided that, though he didn't talk much, Grillby was a good friend.

\--

**Interesting.**

What happened?

 **I believe, for the first time, I am just as baffled as you are**.

I reset… at least, I tried to.

**I know.**

Even though I didn't want to.

**I know.  Your plan was shortsighted.  Fear of death is the greatest driving force of all.  You wanted to prevent a reset by killing yourself?  You almost assured that one occur.  Yet, here we are.  Not at the beginning of the story, but very much in the present.**

I swear, I _did_ try to.

**I know.  I could tell.**

It just… didn't work.

**Curious indeed…**

...am I dead?

**I believe you still cling to life.  I know not by what margin.  But, Frisk, you’re alive.**

...so what now?

 **I believe we wait for you to wake up naturally.**   **And after that, I do not know what will come.  But I believe you are useless to me if you lack the ability to reset.**

Does that mean you're leaving me?

**No.  At this point, I am unable to find another host.  But I will leave you alone until the time comes.**

What if it never comes?

**It will.  It always does.  Until next time, partner.**

_And for the first time in weeks, the creature disappeared from sight, allowing Frisk to sleep without interruption._

\--

“Mhhm…”

Sans looked over to the blanketed figure lying in his bed.  “good morning, sleepyhead.  how ya doin?”

“Gnhh…”  There was a blanket over Frisk’s head, causing her to grow uncomfortably warm.  Frustrated, she tried to fling it off of herself- and was met with pain.  She could move her arms, but not very much before they began to hurt her from the inside out.  At least the left one.  The right one hurt, but not nearly to the same degree.  She could also tell she hurt her shoulder, and her leg, and her head, and her hip, and her other leg and her… well, nearly everything.  It took a moment, but she was eventually able to shimmy her head free from its enclosure.

She had never seen the place before.  It was a tiny studio apartment; the first word that jumped to her mind to describe it was _sad_ .  A close second was _barren_.  There were no furnishings, for the most part.  The closest thing to real furniture in the room was the bed she was on, which felt old and but unused until then.  The room was mostly empty, aside from a sink, stove, microwave, and three doors- an exit, a closet, and a bathroom.  At her side was Sans, in an office chair, watching a cartoon on a tiny old CRT television atop a stool.

“Sans,” she said, “Where am I?  What is going on?”

“how far can you remember?”

“Not very far… I remember… I was outside.  There was snow and there were trees, so I wasn’t in the middle of the city or anything.  And I… uh…”

“...yes?”

“Well…”

“come on, you can do it.”

“I was hearing… voices.”

Sans lay back and nodded his head, finally understanding.

“gotcha.  and you-”

“Jumped off a cliff hoping I’d die so I could never reset.  Because that’s what the voice was telling me to do.  It was… it was…”

“i know who you’re talking about, kid, you don’t gotta say the name if you don’t want to.”

“Okay.  Thanks.  So… wait, how much do you know?”

“know?  almost nothing.  assume?  a whole lot.  like, i don’t know exactly what that thing said to you.  or when it started talking to you or why.  i didn’t know for sure that it was even involved until now.  but i’ve figured something was wrong for a couple weeks now, so i’ve been keeping half an eye on you for a while, like i used to in the underground.”

“Oh… uh, thanks?”

“well, i mean, you could be a little grateful.”

“Hey!  I said thanks!”

“yeah, but with ‘what the fuck is with this stalker’ tone, not ‘one of my buds is making sure im safe and also saved my life’ tone.”

“Okay.  You’re right.  Sorry.”

“oh, uh, why jump?”

“What?”

“you have people who know about your, uh, your little friend in your head.  you have people who understand resets and things.  namely, me and az.  you could have come to us for help instead of-”

“The voice was also telling me to hurt people.  First some helpless dying monster in a hospital, then Asriel.  I didn’t wanna risk it.  Besides, I don’t really care if I die.  It’s you guys I’m worried about.”

“you don’t care if you die?  that can’t be healthy.”

“Well… maybe not.  But it would have worked, right?  If I die- and I mean, _really_ die, then I can never reset and no one gets hurt.”

“you get hurt”

“But that’s okay.”

“and also you could have lost your cool last millisecond and reset just as you hit the ground, ‘cause that’s what normally happens.  the whole survival instinct thing kicks in, and you, almost unable to control it, reset.  but that didn’t happen.”

“Yeah, I didn’t really think it through.  But I couldn’t think about anything at the time.”

“and everything’s perfectly okay now?  creepy murder baby just decided to leave you be?”

“Yeah, pretty much.  She actually just talked to me before I woke up.  She said she’d leave me be _for the time being_.”

“you seem… pretty laid back… whatever.  one more question- and i think i already know the answer- why did chara just decide to abandon ship and leave you alone for a while?  is she going on a caribbean cruise… or is it something else?”

“Well…”

“so you did _try_ to reset.”

“Yeah… I did.”

“and it didn’t work.”

“Correct.  And I have no idea why.  Glad, though.  Glad…”

“do you have any theories?”

“What?”

“do you have any idea why you couldn’t reset?”

“Nope, not a clue.  But I don’t think it was that one time.  I can’t explain it, but it felt… different.  I think that power’s gone for good.”

“really?  huh… that’s...”

“Well, it’s good!  That’s a big stress off of everyone’s life, right?”

“mhm, sure.”

Frisk was a little confused.  This was big!  No more resets!  For real!  Sans’s nihilism and depression were caused by resets.  The knowledge that at the end of the day, it’s all gonna be reset.  And they just figured out that that’ll never happen again.  Frisk didn’t know what she expected- but she figured he’d at least be a little happy about it.

“anyway, kid, you have a few… broken parts.”

“What do you mean?”

“well, i wasn’t exactly right next to you when you jumped.  kinda caught me off guard.  by the time i got a hold of you, bringing you to a complete stop so quickly wouldn’t be much less harmful than letting you hit the rock.  so i slowed you down as much as i dared, and hoped the snow would cushion you enough to keep you alive.  it seems to have worked, since you’re talking and stuff.  don’t know very many talking dead people.  but that does mean you still fell pretty hard and got pretty bruised up.  pretty sure your left arm is broken.”

“Broken?  No no, bruises I can deal with.  But I’m constantly working on stuff, and I’m constantly in the public eye.  A broken bone means I’ll have to take time to get it in a cast, then I’ll have to come up with a story for the press, and I-”

“relax, have you forgotten that all your friends and family are magical monsters?”

“Oh.  Right.  Healing magic.  Good idea.”

“so we can just get you to-”

“I don’t want to go to mom for this.  If possible, I’d like to keep this entire event between you and I.”

“yeah, sure.  i can do it myself if you want.”

“You can do healing magic?”

“technically, no.  but monster food has healing properties to humans, as you well know, so i can whip something up real quick.  i don't know if it'll work for a wound that severe, but we can give it a shot.”

“Okay, why not?”

Sans wheeled his chair over to the microwave, removing from it a still steaming cup of hot chocolate.  “bone-”

“DON’T.  I am _really_ not in the mood.”

“i thought you were one of the few who liked my jokes.”

“Sure, sometimes.  But not now.”

“okay, okay, that's fine.”

Frisk took the hot chocolate from Sans and, with slight hesitation upon feeling its heat, took a small sip.  It burned and immediately healed her tongue, causing a warm feeling to spread through her extremities.  She could feel her bone slide back into place.  She could feel the swollen bruises level out.  Nothing hurt much less, but she could tell that the hot chocolate had certainly saved her a trip to the hospital.

“Seemed to work.  Thanks, Sans.”

“you betcha.”

“So… what now?”

“now, we get you home.”

And in an instant, both were on Toriel’s porch, standing nearly ankle-deep in snow.  “you ready?”

Frisk took a moment to compose herself.  She’d been just a little shaken by the event, but now she could not show it at all.  “Yeah, let’s go… wait a sec.”  She turned around, distracted by something she saw in the corner of her eye- rather, _didn’t_ see.  “Where’s my car?” she asked of no one in particular.

“i dunno.  you didn't take it to the thingy, did you?”

“No… oh well.  Someone inside probably knows.  Let's go.”

She walked from the frozen, white-blue night of outside to the warm, orange hues of her home.  But something was off.  No smell of dinner, no Asriel awaiting her arrival, not even barking; Rags was asleep.  But Toriel was in the kitchen, as she so often was, but apparently on the phone.

“hey tori,” Sans said, “look what I found.”

Frisk barely had a chance to smile and wave before she was nearly toppled by the furry mass that was Toriel’s embrace.  The hug was so tight that it distracted her from her mother’s speech; she could only make out a few “worried”s and “relieved”s.  Apparently Toriel was just about ready to call the police to report the Frisk was missing.  Timing was lucky.

After what felt like an hour of borderline suffocation, Frisk was released, and Toriel turned to Sans with her arms crossed.  “Sans!  I called you and asked you if you knew where Frisk was and you said no!”

“sorry, she and i got wrapped up in a pretty intense game of battleship.  it was so intense that i couldn't remember whether the ships were what i was trying to find… or her.”

Toriel scoffed, opening her mouth again, but was interrupted but the opening of the front door.  At long last, so late at night, Asriel appeared, covered in snow and sorrow.  Immediately, Frisk piped up.  “Oh, Az, were you the one who took my car?”

Asriel froze.  “F- Frisk?”

“Yeah, what's going on?”

“You’re- you're…”

“Asriel, what is wrong?”

“You’re here!  You’re alive!  Frisk, you’re-”

“Yeah, of course I’m- HNNG”  Asriel had dashed forward, taking Frisk into his arms, a little too tightly.  He tried to speak, but all she could make out were a series of unintelligible mumbles and soon accompanied by a wet shoulder, and pain emanating from her still rather painful arm.  “Asriel,” she wheezed, “You can let go now!  You’re- ow- hurting me!”  He let go in an instant, taking a step back and sniffling.

“Sorry,” he said.  “I just- I don’t know how- I saw you-”

Sans hurriedly stepped in front of Asriel, speaking quickly and grabbing his shoulder.  “so az, remember that really cool thing i wanted to show you upstairs?”  At that, Sans pulled Asriel away from the women and to the relative privacy of the upstairs corridor.  The confused prince began to stutter until Sans steadied him and took control of the situation.  “asriel, what do you know?... and talk quietly.”

“I… I guess I must have been seeing things or something because-”

“get to the point.”

“...I thought I saw Frisk jump off a cliff.”

Sans took a step back, breaking eye contact.  “that must have been hard for you.”  Asriel nodded furiously.  “well, it’s a long story, but… she’s probably gonna tell you anyway, so i ain’t gonna lie to you.  yes, she really did do that.  no, she didn’t die.  obviously.  but we’re keeping it quiet, okay?  we don’t want people to know that frisk tried to… do that.  not even tori, kay?”

The stunned prince could do nothing but nod slightly, his face sad, but more confused.  There was a cough.  They both looked over to the top of the staircase, and there was Frisk, standing up unnaturally straight, seemingly waiting her turn.  “well, kid,” Sans said, patting Asriel on the shoulder, “i’ll leave you guys to it.”  He then walked away, down the stairs, presumably to talk to Toriel.  This left Asriel and Frisk alone in the hallway.  The lights weren’t on.  It was late at night.  It was dark.  “So…” Frisk said, slowly approaching him, “You saw that, huh?”

“Yeah, I- I just… what exactly happened?”

“Well, long story short, I… thought… I thought I was gonna break my promise.  I thought I was gonna reset.  Or hurt someone.  Maybe even you.  And it just became… it just became too much.  I thought… the best way to keep all the bad things from happening to you all… was to kill myself.  But I didn’t reset, and Sans still saved me.  And I don’t think I could even if I tried at this point, so…”

“Frisk… Frisk, I’d rather you reset a hundred times than have you _really_ die.”

“Yeah, well… I wouldn’t.  And I really didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.  I didn’t mean for anyone to know.  And I’m sorry if-”

“You’re sorry?   _You’re_ sorry?  Frisk, you tried to kill yourself and I just let you!  If I were just a little faster, if I just decided to go looking a minute sooner… Frisk, I should have stopped you.  I almost let you die!  I could have- I should have… Frisk, I’m… I’m horrible, I’m-”

“Asriel!  It’s fine!  I’m still here!”

“That doesn’t make it okay!  Frisk, I am sorry, I-”

“It’s okay.  It’s fine.  Really.  You just… didn’t know.  Heh, I didn’t even know… until I… did it.  And you’re not horrible.  You’re… pretty great.”

At this point, both of them were looking down and a little to the side.  Asriel was constantly shifting his stance in tiny ways.  What could he do or say in this situation?  What could possibly the correct course of action?  Act like it’s no big deal?  Hug her nearly in tears and tell her he’s glad she’s okay?  Or was that too over the top?

Asriel did not have to decide, because Frisk decided for him.  So quickly that he could not possibly react, he felt something on his lips.  Frisk had leaned up to him and kissed him.  It was quick, timid, unsure, their lips touching for no more than a second, only on the very surface.  Frisk had pulled back almost immediately, returning her gaze to the floor.

“Sorry, I just figured… New Year… that’s what you’re supposed to do, right?”

Asriel stared at her, wide-eyed, mouth just barely ajar.  He could feel the blood start to rush to his face; he knew he was blushing, rather intensely.  He forgot what had happened that day.  He had forgotten that the girl standing in front of him had attempted suicide just hours earlier.  He had forgotten that he and his entire world were potentially in danger of a reset just hours earlier.  He had forgotten that she was an ambassador and that he was a prince, he had forgotten where he lived, he had forgotten his own name.  All that he could process was that the girl in front of him was Frisk, and she was tiny and adorable and smart and caring and she had just kissed him.  He knew she probably thought it was meaningless.  But he didn’t care.  It had happened.  And now he did not know what the _fuck_ to do.

“Um, anyway… good night.”  Frisk’s voice was as unsure as the kiss.  But she seemed to be sure of herself in disappearing into her room in a fashion that was clearly hurried while trying not to look hurried.  He just continued staring at the spot she stood a moment ago.  Then he looked at his phone.  12:01 AM, January 1.  He didn’t even realize.

He at last decided what he’d do next.  He’d go to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, it is hard as a writer of Undertale fanfics not to have Sans deus-ex-machina the crap out of every little problem. Oh well. I guess I can just keep on being a bad writer.  
> Clearly this was meant to come out a couple of weeks ago, but I got caught up in preparing for midterms and AP work and crap like that. And Overwatch (just got it, it's pretty good).  
> Anyway, I finally gave you the friskriel, kind of. Don't worry. There is a lot more to come.  
> Thanks for reading. We passed 300 kudos and 6k hits over the past few weeks. Seriously, you guys are the best. I'm just a 17-year-old nerd with a laptop and minimal knowledge of the English language. So to have so many people actually like this and read it... it means a lot more to me than you realize.
> 
> Thanks again, you rock.
> 
> New story arc. Here we go.
> 
> Edit: Just so you know, the whole "Frisk can't reset" thing is not just a bad plot device (I hope). In other words, there's a reason she can't reset anymore. I planned to have her unable to reset and I've known why she'd be unable to reset almost since the very beginning. But why can't she? It'll come into play later, but you guys can probably figure that out without bursting any blood vessels.


	24. Chapter 24

Asriel awoke after a mere three hours of sleep feeling oddly energized.  There was a smile on his face and a spring in his step.  Getting dressed today was more a little dance than the usual half-conscious exercise in agony and futility.  He even combed his hair a bit.  Something he never did.  The door to his room had an alluring quality to it, an invisible finger, beckoning.  Asking, begging for him to join the rest of the world and participate in all it had to offer today.  So he took a deep breath, swatted at the dust particles floating about, visible in the sunbeams, and exited into the hallway.  Down the stairs, into the kitchen.  And there she was.

She was sitting at the table, enjoying breakfast.  She wore a messy tank top, a bit too big, stained with who knows what.  Her hair seemed to point in infinitely many directions and there were dark bags under her eyes.  Her face was full of Cocoa Puffs, her body hunched over the bowl in front of her as she devoured them.  She froze when he entered, stopping mid-chew.  “Hey,” she said, allowing a small number of particles to fall from her lip back into the bowl below.

He thought she looked phenomenal.

“Hey, Frisk!  How’s your morning been?”

She gave him an odd look.  “Oookaaayy… why do you ask?”

“I just wanted to know, that's all.  Looking forward to the day?”

“You're cheery.  Did you find a nice cream under your bed again?”

“Wha- No!  I'm happy because of last night!”

“Really?  I think _last night_ is why I'm a mess right now.”

“You're not a mess, Frisk,” he said with a soft smile.

“Well that's very nice of you but- wait, why would last night make you happy?”

“Because-”

“Asriel, I almost killed myself being basically possessed by a demonic murder child.  Wasn’t very fun.”

 _Oh.  Right.  Forgot about that._  “Well I'm glad you're still with us.”

“I am too, but I don't think that's it.  You seem… really freaking upbeat.  It’s a good thing, don't get me wrong, but… I dunno.”

“Well, Frisk, don't you remember anything else that happened last night?”

“Well, we lied to everyone, I remember that.”

“And…?”

“And, then I went to bed.  And couldn't really fall asleep, unfortunately.  Actually, my-”

“That’s it?”

“What?”

“That’s… everything that happened last night?”

“Well, everything significant, yeah.  What exactly are you getting at?”

“It’s- just- I- you- but… you kissed me.”

“Yeah.”  She said it with a sort of matter-of-factly tone.  “So what?”

“I thought- but-”

“It’s… I dunno, it’s tradition I guess.  To have someone to kiss at New Year’s.  I know, it’s kind of a weird custom, but, uh… I figured, might as well fulfill it, right?”

Asriel took a step backward, getting a little bit uncomfortable.  “Umm, yeah, Frisk, you’re right!  That’s, uh, in fact, that’s why I’m happy this morning.  I was worried about, uh, about that, especially with the distractions of the night and everything, so I’m happy that, uh, it, all, worked, out!  In the end, I mean!  I mean I had someone to… well… because I’ve always heard from adults that it’s kind of important to them so I figured…”  He trailed off upon realizing that Frisk was looking at him with raised eyebrows and a hint of a smile.  It appeared as though she was trying to hold back a laugh.

“Well, Az,” she said, “I’m glad it worked out for you then.”

“Yeah…”  His gaze fell to the ground.  “Exactly as I hoped.”

_This means she doesn’t like me.  Of course she doesn’t.  How could you ever think that, Asriel?  You’re stupid… stupid, stupid, stupid…_

“Hey,” Frisk said, “Lighten up.”

“I thought you said I seemed ‘really freaking happy’.”

“Yeah, well, that kind of fell apart really quick.  Listen, Asriel, I don’t know what’s going on in that little head of yours, but just know I’m here for you, kay?”

He sighed.  And nodded.  “Okay.  Thanks.”  He was about to walk out of the room, but stopped himself.  “Hey Frisk?”

She had already buried her face in her cereal again.  Looking up with milk dripping from her chin, she gave him a “Hmm?”

“I’m glad you’re still alive.”

She smiled.  “Me too.”

They were then interrupted by an approaching skeleton his trademark blue jacket.  “hey, frisk, you look like shit.  so asriel-”  He stopped upon observing Frisk’s scowl.  “what?  it was a compliment.  anyway, az, i need a few bucks to send to this nigerian prince i met online who says he can double-”

“No way!  Surely you know that’s a scam.”

“heh.  okay.  your loss.  anyway, i have a real treat for you two.”

“Do tell,” Frisk mumbled through her food.

“tori and i are going away this weekend, and…”  He trailed off upon realizing both adolescents were giving him a ‘you like krabby patties, don’t you?’ face.  “no, guys, come on.  a couple of friends… of opposite sex… can go out for a romantic weekend away completely platonically… so get your minds out of the gutter.”

“Well, Sans,” Frisk said, “Platonic or not, I’m proud of you.”

“what do you mean?”

“Well, you’ve always been too lazy and careless to do much anything, really.  You’ve never gone away.  You’ve never really held down a job.  You’ve never _really_ tried your hand a relationship, and all of a sudden, you’re taking all the time and effort to plan out a full-blown weekend away?  I’m impressed.”

“well... i dunno…”

“Is your love for Toriel just _that strong?_ ”

“what?  who said anything about… anyway, no, it’s uh… to be honest, i’m a little… encouraged by the fact that you apparently can’t reset anymore.  i know it might not mean much… hell, there might be some other kid running around with that power right now.  but... i’m hopeful.  for the first time in a while.”

“Oh.  Well, good for you.  So, what’s this treat you speak of?”

“well, we’re gonna be gone, and tori wants someone to watch you guys.  we thought about asking asgore, but figured it would be too awkward.  that means you lucky devils get to spend an entire weekend with-”

“THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HERE TO WATCH OVER YOU CHILDREN AND PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT IN THE FORM OF ANTICS AND JAPES!”

Papyrus had lept into the room immediately striking a heroic pose, his cape flapping in the lack of wind.  The noise had caused Asriel’s dog, Rags, to start barking rapidly in the other room.  “Ugh, stupid dog…” Asriel said as he rose and left to calm his pet.

“HUMAN!  PREPARE YOURSELF, FOR YOU ARE ABOUT TO ENCOUNTER A FUN-FILLED WEEK’S END UNLIKE ANY OTHER!  THERE WILL BE PUZZLES!  TRAPS!  DANGER AND INTRIGUE!  ALL WITHIN THE VERY SPECIFIC SAFETY AND CARE GUIDELINES SET BY TORIEL!  YOU WILL BE EXPOSED TO THE VERY PINNACLE OF-”

Sans walked over to Frisk’s side and leaned down to her ear.  “he’s not gonna stop anytime soon.”

“Yeah, why does Papyrus have to watch us?”

“what, you don’t think my brother is cool?”

“Oh, of course he is.  Papyrus is lots of fun.  But Az and I aren’t really kids anymore, right?  I mean, we’re 16!  He’s almost 17!  We can handle a weekend on our own, right?”

“well, you know toriel… she’s gonna want someone to look over you guys and everything when you’re 40.  you gotta forgive me for not fighting her on this…. it’s our first time doing something like this, i want to be on her good side as much as possible.”

“I understand.”

“and i don’t necessarily think it’s a bad idea myself.”

“Really?”

“well, there’s the fact that you’re both pretty decent assassination targets.  and there’s the fact that you’ve gotten into minor trouble in the past.  but the biggest thing is that i dunno if i want the two of you to live alone with each other for a whole weekend.  who knows what’ll happen between two teenagers in a house alone.”

“What do you mean?” Frisk said, trying to keep a straight face that was betrayed by a red-tinted cheek.

“oh, please.  new years?  that’s not a great excuse.”

“SANS!  STOP DISTRACTING THE HUMAN!  SHE MUST HEAR THE REMAINDER OF MY AMAZING ITINERARY!!”

“right, right, sorry, bro.  good luck, kid.”  With a wink and a wave, he waddled away leaving Papyrus to his ravings as Asriel re-entered the room.  Frisk and Asriel sat politely, listening to the agonizingly detailed schedule Papyrus had laid out for them.  Eventually they spaced out.

\--

The weekend had come around, and it was nearly time for Sans and Toriel to depart.  They were packing a few final items in her room.  The shades were drawn and the lights were low.  Toriel stood hunched over an overflowing suitcase while Sans leaned against the door, watching her do her thing.

“you sure about this, tori?”

“What do you mean?”

“i dunno… are you sure you want to do… this?  go away?”

“Sans, it is only a weekend.  If it is the kids you are worried about, there is no need.  Papyrus is fully capable of-”

“it’s not that.  i just want to make sure you’re sure.”

“Oh… well, yes.  I am sure.  Are you having second thoughts?”

“what?  no, no, course not… just never really thought i’d be here, that’s all.”

“In my room?”

“heh.  well, yeah, i guess.”

“...Sans, I-”

“you don’t want to go, do you?”

“...”

“you’re only doing this to make me happy.  and i appreciate it.  listen, you really don’t have to.”

“Sans…”

“you’ve known that i _like_ you for a while now, but you never-”

“SANS.  That’s… enough.  We don’t need to dwell on who likes who or anything else that may sour our stay.  Why don’t we just have a nice, relaxing time?”

“fair enough.  also... are you sure pap can handle those two?  i caught them doing something pretty nasty yesterday that you’re probably not gonna like.”

“What?”

“i dunno if i should say… you are their mother after all...”

“Were they… looking at porn or something?”

“worse.”

“Oh no, were they doing… drugs?”

“worse than that.”

“What?  Tell me what they were doing!”

“memes.”

“...What are memes?”

“we’ve been on the surface for like four or five years now and you still don’t know what memes are?”

“Well, no,” she said, finally zipping up the suitcase and walking to the door.

“well then…” Sans said as he opened the door, his grin growing rather wide.  “we are going to have a LOT of fun this weekend.”

The living room was better lit than the bedroom.  The windows were wide open, allowing the white, snow-reflected morning light to come pouring in.  It was a warm day, at least for a Northeastern winter.  Papyrus sat in a chair across from a Frisk-filled couch.  She lay on her back, her face buried in some sort of mobile dungeon crawler, trying to enjoy the last few minutes she had before what would certainly be a ‘fun-filled’ experience.  Soon, Toriel and Sans came out, said their goodbyes, and, several bad jokes and unnecessary assurances from Toriel later, they were out the door.  Frisk tried to return to her game, but was interrupted by a rather shouty skeleton.  “HUMAN!  WHERE IS YOUR ASRIEL?”

“Hiding in his room.”

“WOULD YOU GO FETCH HIM PLEASE?”

“Come on, I’m almost done with-”  
  
“THE ITINERARY REQUIRES TWO PARTICIPANTS FOR THE FIRST EVENT.  AND IT’S STARTING NOW!”  He held up a thick white binder, opening it to the middle.  A bony finger scanned the page until it found what it was looking for.  “AH!  RIGHT HERE!  SEE, FRISK?  THAT’S WHAT IT SAYS.”

Frisk took the time to actually read that bit of the paper.  “Well, it does say that… wait, why do you have a binder?”

“TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM STRUCTURE FOR MAXIMUM FUN!”

“But… ah, whatever.  I’ll go get Asriel.”

She disappeared up the stairs, returning a moment later pulling the Prince with her by his ear.  Through his “Ow”s, she said “Okay, he’s here, what’s your first event?”

“DIDN’T I TELL YOU LAST WEEK?”

“Yes, but-”

“VERY WELL!  THEN I NEED NOT REMIND YOU.  YOU MAY BEGIN.”

“Erm…”

Asriel (one Frisk released him) stepped forward.  “Don’t you think it would be fun to have a sort of… formal announcement of each event before it starts?”

“OH HO!  YOU’RE RIGHT!  THAT WILL MAKE THIS ALMOST LIKE THAT GAME SHOW THAT METTATON KEEPS ASKING ME TO BE A PART OF!”

“Wait, Mettaton- what?”

“AND THE FIRST EVENT IS!...”

Frisk and Asriel shared a look, nodding at each other before simultaneously shouting “PUZZLES!”

Papyrus was a little taken aback.  “SO YOU DO REMEMBER.  TRICKY, TRICKY.  THIS IS ALREADY HARDER THAN I THOUGHT.  WELL THEN… I MUST GIVE YOU AN EVEN TRICKIER PUZZLE THAN ORIGINALLY PLANNED.”  He left the room, returning moments later with a Rubik’s Cube.  “THIS DASTARDLY DEVICE IS THE CONQUEROR OF MANY.  ALL HAVE TRIED, NONE HAVE FAILED.  ERM- ALL HAVE FAILED.  AND NOT EVERYONE HAS TRIED YET.  BUT THAT WILL SOON CHANGE!  FOR THE TWO OF YOU WILL TRY YOUR HAND AT- WELL, THE ‘ALL HAVE FAILED’ THING WON’T CHANGE, BUT- NEVER MIND!  I PRESENT TO YOU!  THE CUBE OF INFINITE COLORS!”

“There are six colors, Pap.”

“NO MATTER!  HERE!”

Papyrus handed the cube to Asriel, who immediately handed it to Frisk.  She stared at it for a moment, before pulling her phone out and saying “Give me ten minutes.”  Asriel turned to look at Papyrus.  The skeleton had pulled out his own cube, and was now crosslegged on the floor, hunched over it.  Observing it.  Moving side one-by-one slowly and carefully.  So Asriel turned back to Frisk, who was using an online guide.  He watched her eyes move from her phone to the cube and back.  He watched her mouth as it formed an occasional “Oh, wait.” after a mistake.  He watched her hair- recently cut to its usual shoulder-length- bounce about with her every movement.  And he decided that he rather liked the way she looked.  He didn’t know if she was a ‘pretty girl’ to most people.  But she certainly was to him.  Her nose.  He liked her nose.  It was small and adorable and-

“Asriel!”

“What?”

“You okay, buddy?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were just staring at me for like five minutes.  Zoned out or something.”

“Oh… was I?”  Was he blushing?  He hoped he wasn’t blushing.  “I hadn’t noticed, heh heh.  Yeah.  Zoned out.”

“Thinking of anything interesting?”

“Uh- WHAT?”

“Well, normally when people are zoned out, their minds aren’t just dead.  There’s something that they’re thinking about.”

“Oh, well, uh, I was… I was thinking about, how, uh… YOUR NOSE AND...”

“My… nose?”

It was all he had not to cover his face with his hands.  “...yes.”

“O...kay then?”

“Frisk-”

“No no no, think about what you want, but I’m not gonna lie, that’s a little weird.”

“Well… yeah.”

“Anyway, I’m just about done with this, so if you want to get Papyrus’s attention, that’d be great.”

He nodded and tapped the skeleton on the shoulder.  Papyrus did not respond.  Looking at Papyrus’s cube, it appeared to be in the exact same position as it was several minutes ago.  But he couldn’t be sure.

Eventually he peeled the stickers off.

\--

For hours, they did puzzles of various sorts, ranging in difficulty from the easiest online slider puzzles to hopelessly elaborate nameless setups without solution.  There were no breaks.  They fit snacks in wherever they could.  Papyrus’s schedule was jam-packed and iron-clad.

\--

Sans and Toriel sat at a picnic table at a touristy location somewhere far away.  There was a pink umbrella to provide shade for them and their fruity drinks in elaborate containers.

“hey tori?”

She sighed.  “Yes, Sans?”

“knock knock?”

“Sans, I-”

“come on, knock knock!”

“Oh, fine.  Who’s there?”

“cow says.”

“Cow says who?”

“no, a cow says moo!”

He grinned at her, hoping for a response.  There was none.  “come on, tori… something’s bothering you.  normally that sort of thing would crack you up.”

“Nothing’s bothering me, Sans.”

“really?  cause... it seems like there is.”

“Well… I know how much you love them, and you know I do too, but could we do something other than tell jokes for a short while?  I hate to say it, but they do get bland after several hours.”

“okay, okay… did i tell you about this one time papyrus-”

“Anything other than bad jokes and Papyrus.  Sorry.  You rather ‘beat that one into the ground’ as well.”

“ah.  sorry.”

“...”

“...”

“Did I tell you that I have taken to a new television show?”

“no you haven’t.”

“Ah… it’s a show that goes into the lives of various animals just to let the public know what they are up to.”

“sounds like fun.”

“It is!  My favorite episode is the one on-”

“snails?”

“Yes!  How did you know?”

“lucky guess.”

“...”

“...”

They sat for several minutes in silence, their gazes falling anywhere but on each other.

\--

“AND NOW TO SHAKE IT UP A LITTLE!  THE NEXT GAME IS… SPIN THE BOTTLE!”

“Uhm-” Asriel and Frisk both started to speak after a moment of silent surprise, finding themselves capable of nothing but insubstantial muttering.

“I… ACTUALLY DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS IS OR HOW IT’S PLAYED.  BUT I HEARD ON THE GRAPEVINE THAT HUMAN TEENAGERS LOVE IT!  SO, FRISK, YOU MUST FEEL RIGHT AT HOME.  AND ASRIEL, YOU SHALL ENJOY IT NONETHELESS!  NOW… HUMAN, HOW EXACTLY IS THIS GAME PLAYED?”

“Um, well… f- first, you need a bottle…” she stammered.

“OF COURSE!  HOW CLEVER!  FOR A GAME NAMED FOR ITS USE OF A BOTTLE, YOU NEED… A BOTTLE!  FORTUNATELY, I DEDUCED AS MUCH MYSELF, AND I HAVE COME PREPARED!  BEHOLD!”

He pulled an empty soda bottle seemingly out of nowhere.  “I SAVED THIS FROM ALPHYS AND UNDYNE’S HOUSE.  THEY HAVE A LOT OF THESE LAYING AROUND.  THE PLACE IS REALLY IN NEED OF TIDYING UP!  ANYWAY… WHAT IS STEP TWO?”

“Step, uh, two is…”  She thought for a moment.  “You have to put the bottle on its side on a table, and spin it.  We each take turns spinning it, and whoever can spin it the longest without stopping wins…?”

Asriel glanced at her.  “You really think he’s gonna believe-”

“RIGHT!  WELL, I BELIEVE I WILL TAKE THE FIRST TURN, FOR I AM THE OLDEST!  NYEH HEH HEH!”

“Well, actually,” Asriel began, but Papyrus had already started spinning the bottle.  He spun it.  And spun it.  And spun it.  The bottle just kept moving, showing no signs of stopping.  It just.  Kept.  Spinning.  Unboosted, unassisted, it kept spinning.  “WELL… THIS MAY TAKE A WHILE.  MAY I DECLARE MYSELF WINNER?”  Both others nodded.  “VERY WELL!  I HAVE BESTED YOU!  NOW, SINCE IT IS SUNDOWN, IT IS TIME FOR THE BEST PART OF THE DAY.”

“We get to take a break?”

“NO!  I SHALL MAKE YOU SPAGHETTI!  NYEH HEH- BE RIGHT BACK.”  He sprinted into the kitchen, springing into pasta-based action in a flurry of noise and tomato paste smells.  “I guess,” Asriel said, “This means you and I can take a break?”

“Oh, finally.  Hanging out with Papyrus this much is just exhausting.”

“It really is!”

Once again, Asriel took a moment to look at Frisk’s face.  Unlike last time, he did not get lost in his own mind, but it was a struggle to resist.  Especially when she smiled, touched his shoulder, and said, “Come on, let’s find something to do.”

\--

“soooo…”

“One bed.”

“yeah.”

“I am sorry.  I must have missed that when booking the room/.”

“nah, that’s fine, that’s uh… fine.  i don’t mind the chair.”

“Sans, are you sure?”

“yeah, i mean, i’m probably not gonna sleep anyway, so…”

“What are you talking about?  You sleep all the time!”

“yeah, but hardly at night.  i have insomnia, so…”

“Ah, I see.”

“well, we don’t exactly have to go to bed yet anyway.  the kids aren’t around.  we could have some drinks or something.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea-”

“relax, tori, we’ll be fine.  come on… i know a shortcut.”

\--

“WHILE THE PASTA COOKS, WE HAVE TIME FOR OUR LAST GAME… A TEST OF WIT AND SKILL!  WHO CAN AIM THEIR MAGIC THE MOST ACCURATELY!”  

“When’d you have time to put a dartboard up?” Frisk asked.

“DARTBOARD?  THAT IS NO MERE DARTBOARD!  THAT IS A PROFESSIONAL-GRADE TARGET APPARATUS USED TO QUANTIFY SKILL AND MAGICAL ACCURACY!  FOR THIS IS THE MAGICAL ACCURACY CHALLENGE!  WE WILL EACH STAND SEVERAL FEET AWAY, AND DO MAGIC ONTO THE BOARD AS CLOSE TO THE CENTER AS POSSIBLE.  EXCEPT FOR YOU, FRISK.  YOU WILL USE DARTS.”

As Asriel facepalmed, Frisk took her position in front of the board, darts in hand.  She took a moment to ready herself, aimed, and threw the three projectiles.  They all hit fairly close to the center; her score totaled…

“60 POINTS!  NOT BAD!  MY TURN…”

Papyrus now stood in front of the board, summoning bones and flinging them at the center.  One hit a wall, another hardly nicked the board.  The last, however, was spot on.”

“55 POINTS… THAT’S PRETTY GOOD TOO!  I THINK.  WAIT… IS THIS GOLF RULES OR NOT?”

“No, Papyrus.”

“OH NO!  THAT MEANS I HAVE BEEN DEFEATED BY THE HUMAN!  UMM… TINY ASGORE, YOU ARE THE LAST HOPE FOR MONSTER KIND.  DO WELL!”

Asriel took his position, aimed a fireball, and...

“Oh no…”

The entire dartboard caught fire.  “UHH, DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO PUT OUT A FIRE?” Papyrus said, running around in circles.  Frisk had left to retrieve water from the kitchen, but had frozen in her tracks upon seeing that the spaghetti too had caught fire of its own accord.  And it was spreading fast, almost as quickly as the dartboard fire.  She pulled out her phone and called first 911, then Toriel and Sans.

\--

“hey, frisky business, got your call.  so... how much got damaged?”

“Not much, I don’t think.  That’s one of the perks to having a mostly monster fire department.  Very fast, and very- err, foamy in this case.”  She glanced over at the wall that once held the dartboard.  It was now coated in a gray-green bubbling material that seemed to defy the laws of physics.  But it worked, and well.  “Sorry we tore you and Toriel away from your weekend away.”

“don’t worry bout it.  wasn’t going well anyway.  besides, tori’s still there.”

“She is?”

“yeah, she hit the sack early, feeling a little… tipsy.  i’ll be there to greet her in the morning, don’t worry.”

“So… the whole you and Toriel thing is a bust, huh?”

“i guess so.”

“I’m sorry.”

“don’t be.  i’m not really upset, kind of saw it coming.  besides, i’m hopeful.  i’m not the only one who- uhh, right, sorry.”  Frisk had given him very much a ‘stop talking right now’ look.  “well... i guess all that’s left to do is make you and asriel clean all this up.”

“But Papyrus-”

“pap is an adult.  i’m sure none of this is his fault.”  He winked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the off chance you don’t know what the ‘you like krabby patties, don’t you?’ face is, here you go: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MO4D4JBNBnk/maxresdefault.jpg
> 
> Holy fuck it's been a month and a half. Sorry, I've had a shit ton on my plate. I know I always say that, but this past February has been the most intense month I've had in a while.
> 
> Anyway, I don't know how many read my ranting in a comment on the last chapter, but I wanted to escape the empty dramaless sadness, at least for a little while. So here you are. I also wanted to make it 4k words (back in the day, that was my goal for each chapter, but I haven't reached that goal for like 10 chapters). It's close... like 3850 or something. I dunno the exact count.
> 
> Thanks for reading, you rock. Comments and kudos are really helpful and encouraging (even criticism- don't be afraid! I won't be hurt!)


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unscheduled day off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember all the way back to Chapter 11. After a long day of fun adventures as kids, the two would lay next to each other on the floor under the radio, and Space Oddity would play at 7:00 each evening. That kinda comes into play here. Oh, and if I were you, I’d have Under Pressure playing on your computer/phone/whatever as you read the last bit (you’ll know when to start it).

 

_Several weeks later..._

At 5:30 AM on Tuesday, Frisk woke up.  She went to school, having dusted the soot from the day before off her backpack (fires of some sort had become something of a weekly occurrence).  Normally she’d walk down with Asriel.  Today, she didn't have the time.  She had to talk to a teacher before the bell.  At the school, she shoved her gear into her locker and spent half an hour discussing some missing work with her pre-calc teacher.  They got into a polite argument that Frisk lost.  Despondent, she trudged to her first class where she sat half-asleep the whole time, unable to grasp even the most basic of new facts.  Next class, she took a test on material she was absent for.  The feeling of the morning’s failures carried with her the next two periods, and through lunch.  What was normally a 30 minute respite in the cafeteria was now just as frantic as ever.  She had not the time to converse with the prince sitting next to her.  She had to finish the homework due tomorrow.  Unfortunately, she got through less than half the pile when the bell rang.

School was finally over, but she couldn't walk home with Asriel, because she had to stay after to help the music program set up for some event.  She’d promised.  Two hours of lugging heavy instruments and equipment around later, she jogged home, fearing for time, and without so much as a scrap of food, got in the shower, got dressed again, and sped back out to the center of the city, this time in her car.  Two fuel stops later (thanks to the sports car’s incredible gas mileage), she had reached her destination.  A tall building with lots of cameras on the inside and satellites on the outside.  Then she participated in a live interview on some news show.  They were asking about monsters, of course.  They were asking about what the monsters’ plans were to incorporate human children into monster culture.  They were asking about the monsters’ immorality.  They were asking exhausting, meaningless, horribly biased questions to which there were no real answers.  These questions were mixed with thinly veiled attacks, of course.

Frustrated, Frisk started the long drive home, arriving just in time to see everyone else go to bed.  That is when she finished her homework.  An hour later, struggling to keep her eyes open, she threw some cereal into a bowl with some milk, took two bites, illuminated by the dim kitchen light, and fell asleep on the spot.

At 5:30 AM, a harsh noise from her phone woke her up.  The smell of stale milk pervaded the room.  She was still in the thick makeup and uncomfortable clothing of the previous day.  She took a hurried shower, changed her clothes, and ran off to school.  Half an hour early.  She didn't even realize.

She got her test back from the day prior.  The grade was disappointing.  More disappointing was the fact that she had missed a homework assignment.  It had gone utterly forgotten, and now it would stain her report card.  Wonderful.  At lunch, she was distracted.  Couldn't hold a conversation.  Worse, she couldn't eat.  They always had Taco Tuesdays, of course on Wednesdays (thanks to brilliant scheduling on someone’s part), and the meat they used gave Frisk stomach aches.  Hungry, she fought through her next couple of classes, stumbling on her way to her last class of the day and dropping all her books.  When she got to class, she couldn't find the work that was due.  Must have been lost in the flurry of fallen papers moments ago.

Again, she stayed late, this time voluntarily, to talk to teachers about her missing assignments.  Luckily, they liked Frisk, and allowed her to make them up on the spot.  This, of course, took time.  So the process of going home was the same: jog, quick shower, right in the car, several stops for fuel.  First she had to go to some orphanage.  Human kids and monster kids were fighting and she had to fix it.  This led to several sarcastic mutterings of how such a small problem was a good use of her time when there were so many bigger things she had to deal with.  But she couldn't grumble for long, because she had to be on some late night talk show.  Thankfully, it was with a comedian, so they spent less time on the human vs monster debate than they did on the problems of living with snow.  It was tough having blizzards even into April.

A few fuel stops later, she was home.  She had homework to do that she promptly ignored.  Instead, she threw something, into the microwave, and once again, fell asleep eating it.

At 5:30 AM that noise greeted her again.  And she went to school early again, this time having neglected a shower in favor of getting to the building as quickly as possible.  She used the extra time to access the school’s library and finish the work she hadn’t the night before.  She fell asleep in her first class, earning her a first ever detention with a sympathetic but very by-the-books teacher.  At lunch she thought Asriel was talking at her.  She wasn't sure.  In gym, she was lagging behind the group, for which she got a short scolding that she couldn’t fully process.  She almost fell asleep in detention too.  Luckily, she kept her eyes open, and trudged all the way home.  Thursdays, she usually had no ambassadorial duties, and today was no different.  At home at last, she fell on the couch, and shut her eyes.  For two seconds.  Then she remembered she had a project due the next day.  On her way up to her room, she ran into Asriel, who said… something.  And Toriel, who said… something else.  Then she got to work and didn't find finish till it was very late.  This time, she didn't bother going down to eat.  She didn't bother getting changed into sleepwear.  She just plopped herself down in bed and fell immediately to sleep.

\--

A bleary-eyed Frisk rolled over in bed.  It was bright.  Odd.  Usually when she woke up it was still dark.  And usually she could hear the alarm on her phone.  Was she late?  She checked a clock.  10:45!  No shower today, she just threw on the least offensive set of clothing that she could find in the ten seconds she looked, and sprinted down halfway down the steps before turning around to grab her backpack.  She had just stumbled back down when…

“Good morning!”  Asriel was on the couch playing video games.

“Asriel?  What… shouldn't you- shouldn't _we_ be at school?  Is there a snow day or something?”  She looked out the window.  Nothing fell from the sky.

“No.”

“Then what-”

He paused the game and turned to face her.  “I disabled the alarm on your phone… your password wasn't that hard to guess,” he said with a slight blush.

“Oh… I should probably… um…”  Her password was _Asriel_.  Now she too was blushing, but she set embarrassment aside in favor of questions.  “Why did you do that?”

“Because I decided you deserve a day off.”

“What?”

“Frisk, you’ve been working so much.  I’ve hardly seen you.  You’re jumping from project to project, hardly sleeping, and you look dead half the time.  I’m just a little concerned.  So, I told Mom we were both sick.  Luckily she was in such a rush she couldn’t think about it very much and just went with it.  But now she’s gone, and we have the next three days to ourselves, since she’s taking one of her classes on an overnight field trip.”

Frisk rubbed the back of her neck.  “Really?  That’s a little… unlike you.  Wouldn’t think you’d break the rules like that.”

“Well, it wasn’t entirely my idea.”

“Sans?”

“Kind of.  I was talking to him and Papyrus about you and I think we all had that idea at the same time.”

Frisk remained in place, a little stunned.  “Wow.  I… I don’t really know what to think.  Thanks, Az.”

“Don’t mention it.  Now, why don’t you go take a shower.  I have a little money saved up, so we’ll get lunch wherever you want.”

“Really?  Anywhere?”

“Yeah!”

“Burger King!”

“...really?”

“YES!”

She waved as she hopped back upstairs, and the distinctive noise of the shower could be heard a moment later.  Asriel didn’t quite notice when she came back downstairs, rather distracted by the events on screen (“No, no, don’t you dare try to pass me on the inside… oh, oh you… come on!  You forced me into the gravel!”).  Frisk intentionally walked into his periphery and cleared her throat.  He glanced over for a second, then back to the screen.  After a moment’s processing, he nearly dropped his controller and turned back to her, wide-eyed.  She was wearing a yellow sundress, one he’d never seen before.  She’d combed her hair neatly in a way that made it look the way it did when they were kids.  Shiny red shoes, a red bracelet, and a red heart pin in her hair.  He couldn’t help but stare.

“Umm… Asriel?  You okay?”

He shook his head.  “Frisk… you’re… um… I guess I’m just not used to you dressing up all girly like that.”

She laughed quietly, punched his shoulder, and said, “Come on, let’s go.”

\--

The odd thing about fast food joints at noon on a weekday is that they are always very busy, yet empty.  The lines to order are always long, and cars pile from the drive-thru out onto the road, but dining rooms are barren.  This is caused by the flow of workers on their lunch breaks.  They don’t have time to sit down and eat, they just need to grab a burger and a soda and get out as quickly as possible.  This meant that most of the building was empty, and Asriel and Frisk got a little booth to themselves in the corner of the restaurant.

They talked while they ate.  It had been a while since they’d sat down and had a good conversation, so they had some catching up to do.  Frisk talked about her work and recent detention, Asriel told the story of one of his classes dissolving into a room full of teenagers taking turns showing the teacher memes.  Soon they decided to come up with a plan for world domination that involved rounding up all the world’s leaders and forcing them into a room filled with cats and launching it to the moon.  At one point, Frisk got some barbecue sauce on her nose, which led to a little game.  Asriel tried to wipe the sauce off with a napkin, and Frisk tried her best to stop him, eventually resorting to dabbing barbecue sauce on _his_ nose.  They both leaned back laughing before cleaning up in the bathrooms.

When they were done eating, they decided that the first beautiful, temperate day of the year was still young, and they’d take a walk.  Next to each other, they made their way downtown, stopping in a convenience store for some candy bars.  Plain milk chocolate for both of them, in this case.  They ate them on the go, Asriel leading the pair to an unknown destination.  So wrapped up in conversation, they didn’t even notice where they were until they nearly walked off the edge.

“Woah,” they said simultaneously, taking a step back.

The outlook was a little muddy, the view not as nice as it could have been, considering spring hadn’t fully kicked in.  Trees were still missing leaves, and the ground was coated with a gross brown-gray of wet mud and rock left by the recently melted snow.  It was better than it was last time they were up there, though.  Last time, there was a snow storm.  And…

“Frisk?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you… wanna get out of here?”

“Why?”

“Because… you… here…”

“Nah, Az, I’m fine.  That hasn’t ruined this place for me or anything.”

“Oh…”

They retreated to their favorite rock.  Asriel could not stop rubbing his arm and watching Frisk carefully, clearly a little uneasy.  “Are you sure you’re okay, Frisk?  I mean-”

“Yes!  Okay?  I’m good.”

“Oh… well…”

“You’re not fine, are you, Az?”

“Not really…”

“Well… I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“This used to be a sort of special place for us, if you remember.  I don’t know if you do.  And I guess I ruined it for you forever?”

“Well… I don’t know.  Maybe not forever.  But, for now, let’s… go home?”

“No way, we’re going to see a movie!”  Frisk said it with considerable excitement, jumping to a stance as she did so.

“What?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun!”

She grabbed Asriel’s hand and dragged him all the way back to the city, eventually arriving at their favorite theater.  They bought random tickets and found themselves watching a sort of romantic comedy, overpriced popcorn and candy in their laps.  It was about a boy and a girl who grew up together.  Apparently, the girl saved the boy's life, and they were as close as siblings until they fell in love with each other as teenagers.  The plot was hard to follow, the jokes fell flat and the writing was kind of bad, but they enjoyed themselves anyway.  Then they laughed their way back home, full of burger and candy and popcorn.  At no point did they notice that they had unconsciously grabbed each other’s hands for the return trip, not even when they had to let go to open the door.

\--

They found themselves laying down next to each other on the floor of their living room, at the foot of the little table with the radio on it.  The sun was finally going down, and the open windows allowed a temperate breeze to rustle their hair and fur.  Asriel had turned the radio upon first entering; sheer force of habit.

“So, Frisk… did you enjoy yourself today?”

“Oh, of course!”

“Good.  I’m glad.  That was the goal.”

“I’m still a little shocked that you did this.”

“Yeah, I know.  I probably shouldn’t have, but… you’ve just been working so much recently, I got a little worried about you.”

“I know I’m a busy person, Az, but… you don’t need to worry about me.  I can handle it.”

“Well… that’s not all I’m worried about.”

She propped herself up on her side and leaned over to look at him.  “What do you mean?”

“Frisk, I… it’s just… man, I don’t know how to talk about this.  Frisk, a while ago you tried to… you know... kill yourself... and came out of it just… fine.  I mean, I’m glad you’re okay and everything, but that’s not the kind of thing that just… happens, I guess.  People don’t magically get better like that.  So I was kind of thinking… maybe you were taking up all that extra work to distract yourself from a bigger problem…?  Or something like that.  I’m not really sure how to explain what I’m thinking, so I’m sorry if that doesn’t make any sense, but… Frisk, you scared me.  You scared us all.  And you were just… okay!  Just like that!  The whole family was pretty surprised, but we agreed to just go along with it, for your sake.  But now I’m thinking we shouldn’t.  I think we need to talk about this.  Because I’m worried, Frisk.  I have been for weeks.”

Frisk didn’t respond for a little while.  She looked into the distance, unconsciously tracing circles in the carpet with her finger until she finally spoke.  “Oh.”

“So, Frisk?  Do you… have anything you want to talk about?”

“Well… I… I dunno.”

“Frisk, you can tell me anything.  Really.  If you wanna keep it a secret, that’s fine, I won’t tell a soul.”

“...nothing.  Never mind.”

He sighed.  “Come on, please?  You don’t even have to tell me, just… tell someone.  Talk to someone.  It can’t be good to keep whatever it is inside you.”

“I’m fine, Asriel.”

“At least tell me that you’ll talk to someone else about this?”

“...Asriel?”

“Yeah?”

At this point, he was looking rather intently at her, and she was on her back, her eyes locked on the ceiling directly above her.  “That decision… to… to kill myself… I… I did it, I actually tried because of Chara, but… honestly… even before Chara was in my head, I… made that decision.  I didn’t know when or how or even why, but I just thought one day… ‘Yeah, I should do it.’  And you know what else?”

Asriel did not respond.

“That wasn’t even the first time.  I’ve been thinking that since… well, for a long time.”

“...Frisk, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything.  You wanted me to talk to someone, so I did.”

They lay in silence for a short while, then Asriel rolled over and took Frisk in his arms.  He hugged her tightly, burying his face in her neck, placing one hand on the back of her head.  She did not hug him back; she didn’t even respond, except to say, “Are you crying?”

“Ye… yeah, a little.  Frisk I don’t like hearing that.”

“Why do you think I’ve kept it to myself?  No one likes hearing that sort of thing.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt, Frisk!  I don’t want you to… to….  Frisk, I care about you.  A lot of people care about you.  You know that right?”

“Yeah…”

With a sniffle, he let go of her, returning to his original position.  And there they lay.  An hour.  A day.  Five minutes.  It didn’t matter.  Each was lost in their own thoughts, recovering from the conversation in the solitude of their own minds.  The setting sun cast slowly moving shadows on everything in the room, the radio setting an oddly appropriate tone once _Crystalised_ came on.

Eventually, they started talking.  Careful talk at first, a sad distraction.  But soon a natural conversation began to flow, with jokes and laughing and playful jabs both physical and verbal.  But the radio shut them up.

It was 7:00.  The weather was nice.  They’d just completed a day of adventure out on the town, and now they lie below the radio at 7:00 for the first time in a long while.  Of course, they respected the tradition.  They stopped talking, and listened to Space Oddity in its entirety.  They allowed one of the greatest songs ever written to wash over them, and act as the closer for the night.

Except… they didn’t.  After it was done, they stuck around, and listened to the next one.   _Under Pressure._

“Oh, I love this song,” they agreed.

_Pressure, pushing down on me, pressing down on you, no man at fault_

_Under pressure that burns a building down, splits a family in two, puts people on streets..._

_It’s the terror of knowing what this world is about,_

_Watching some good friends screaming, ‘Let me out!’,_

_Pray tomorrow gets me higher, pressure on people, people on streets…_

“You know, Az, I never would have heard this song if it weren’t for you.  You’re the one into all the ‘classic’ music after all.”

“Yeah… well…”

_Chipping around, kick my brains around the floor, these are the days it never rains but it pours,_

Frisk turned her head to look at Asriel, only to find that his gaze already lay upon her.

“Umm… Frisk?”

She didn’t say anything.

_People on streets, ee da de da de, people on streets, ee da de da de da de da,_

_It’s the terror of knowing what this world is about,_

_Watching some good friends screaming, ‘Let me out!’,_

_Pray tomorrow gets me higher, higher, high,_

_Pressure on people, people on streets…_

Suddenly, Frisk rolled over, placing herself on top of Asriel, holding herself above him, her eyes searching his face.

“Umm… FRISK?”

She didn’t say anything.

_Turned away from it all like a blind man, sat on a fence, but it don’t work,_

_Keep coming up with love but it’s so slashed and torn,_

Slowly, she lowered her head.  Asriel looked nervous.  But a little hopeful, too.  Both sets of eyes jumped between the eyes and lips of each other as they came closer and closer...

_Why - why - why!?_

_Love, love, love, love, love,_

_Insanity laughs under pressure, we’re breaking_

Then, they closed their eyes, and their lips touched.

_Can’t we give ourselves one more chance?_

_Why can’t we give love that one more chance?”_

_Why can’t we give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love…_

They were kissing each other, deeply and lovingly, seemingly out of nowhere.  Neither of them wanted to stop.  Not when this felt so right in such a primal way.

_Because love’s such an old fashioned word,_

_And love dares you,_

_To care for,_

_The people on the edge of the night,_

_And love dares you,_

_To change our way of caring about ourselves,_

_This is our last dance,_

_This is our last dance,_

_This is ourselves._

They finally released, pulling back to gaze into each other’s eyes as finger snaps ended the song.  They didn’t speak or laugh or even smile.  They just stared.

_Under pressure._

_Under pressure._

_Pressure..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I mentioned a few songs, so here they are, if you don’t know them by name.  
> Crystalised by The XX (Gorillaz version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iiANbvmmCA  
> Space Oddity by David Bowie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYYRH4apXDo  
> Under Pressure by David Bowie and Queen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoDh_gHDvkk  
> This is the second time I’ve featured Burger King as a pseudo-romantic location. Do I need mental help? I dunno. I mean, I have my reasons.  
> And the version of Under Pressure I grew up listening to (and the version I imagined for the story and the version linked above) is slightly different from the version everyone knows. Sorry.
> 
> So I posted my first ever work to AO3 (a friskriel oneshot) a year ago today. Err- tomorrow. April 18th. I finished it tonight, and just said "Screw it, let's post it now." This story, Alone No More, started on... April 25, was it? I'll release the next two chapters then. Yes, two. Because one of them won't exactly be kid-friendly (you can skip it if you want).
> 
> Edit: You guys can wait a couple more days right? hehehehehe i am so swamped right now
> 
> This was originally gonna be a little longer, but I decided I liked ending it with the end of the song, so I'll include the omitted portion at the beginning of the next chapter. Don't worry, it's not super important.
> 
> Fun fact, Under Pressure is my number one favorite song of all time.
> 
> Thanks a lot for reading. I've been here for a year now (longer, if you count time before I was writing) and honestly, you guys... you freaking rock. I say that at the end of every chapter, yes, but that shouldn't take away from the significance of it. The internet can be a toxic place, especially to those who enjoy ships and fanfics and whatnot. Real life can be even worse. But, everyone I've "met" here on AO3 has simply been a really cool person. Super nice, really supportive... other... good things that I can't think of because I'm bad. And I cannot convey to you how immensely important that is to me. To be able to come here, see comments, talk to people who like my work, like the same weird stuff as me, and are willing to indulge me in my drab ramblings. So, thank you. Really. It's been fun. And I'm not going anywhere anytime soon :)
> 
> Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to write some crappy 2nu stuff.


	26. Chapter 26

They lay in silence for several minutes, their eyes locked in a soundless and still ballet of emotion.  More music played, but they didn’t notice what.  The songs just blended together in the background, each indistinguishable from the last.  Eventually, Frisk brought her head a little closer to Asriel’s again, whispering his name as she did so.  Closer, closer, almost touching once more…

All of a sudden, Frisk was at her feet, running her hands through her hair.

“Frisk,” Asriel said, propping himself up on one arm.  “What’s wrong?”

She took a deep breath, facing away as she spoke.  “Asriel, I just kissed you.”

His face flushed red.  “Yeah, you did…”

“I’m sorry, I just… really wanted to do that.  The music was playing, and I looked over, and you’re just so handsome, and-”

“Frisk!  It’s okay!”  He stood up and spun her to face him.  “Really.”

“You’re okay with it?  You’re comfortable being friends with me knowing I… knowing I _like_ you?”

This is something that was quite obvious at this point, but hearing it said made it click in Asriel’s mind.  He thought that her admittance of this would give him the confidence to say what he wanted to next, but her doe-eyed gaze made his heart melt and his mind malfunction.  “Frisk, I, just… I-I a-actually, uh, you, I, um… Frisk, I’ve been in love with you for… a long time.  As long as I’ve known you, I think.  I’ve just been afraid to- mmph-”

She attacked him again, thrusting her mouth onto his, nearly causing him to stumble with the sheer force of it.  Once the surprise wore off, he closed his eyes and melted into the kiss.  This wasn’t slow and tender like the first one.  This was messier, sloppier, more animalistic.  As if years of pent-up desire could be contained no more and were being released in that one moment.  Her tongue pressed against his lips, begging for entrance.  This caused him to break off.

“Fr- Frisk!  What are you-”

“Oh… am I taking it too far too fast?  It’s okay, I understand.  I just really wanted to do… stuff with you.  You’re… really attractive.”  She said that last bit with a giggle, looking toward the floor and rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

“Stuff?  You want to… I’m sorry Frisk.”

“Yeah, it’s okay.  It was stupid of me to think you’d want to-”

“No!  That’s not what I meant!  I mean, sorry I pulled away so quickly!  I was just a little surprised, that’s all.  Didn’t really expect it from you.”

“Okay… so… you wanna do this?  Like… _really do this_?”

“Yeah,” he said with a little catch in his voice.  “I do.”

She grinned that wonderful, lovable grin that Asriel simply couldn’t resist, approaching him once more and throwing her arms around his neck.  “I’ve never done anything like this before,” she admitted, a light blush across her cheek.

“Neither have I.”

He smiled as he closed the gap between them, taking her in in sweet embrace once more.  It wasn't very long before they were on the couch, their clothes long forgotten on the floor...

\--

Frisk awoke bleary-eyed, the morning sun blinding her as if often did.  She didn’t like getting up after sunrise, but without an alarm, she usually did.  Today was no different.  Or it wouldn’t be, if it weren’t for the big, furry arm that held her against a big, furry body.  A smile crept across her face as the events of the previous night came into focus.  She’d need to take a shower.  Open a window or light a candle or something.  But that would come later.  For the time being, she just enjoyed having her head pressed against Asriel’s chest, hearing his heartbeat and his steady, relaxed breathing.

Then the phone rang.   _Dammit… the real world is calling._  She slid herself out from under Asriel’s arm, taking hurried strides to her pocket of her pants on the floor.  Quickly as she could, paying no mind to caller ID or anything of the like, she accepted the call.  “Hello?”

“Frisk?  This is Toriel.  How are you feeling?”

Frisk pinched her nose lightly as she spoke.  “Uhh, I’m fine.  Still a little achey.  Asriel’s worse off than I am, I think.”

“Do you need me to come home?  Or send someone over?  I am sure Sans or Papyrus would be willing to give you Benedryl or-”

“We’re fine.  We can take care of ourselves.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.  Enjoy the rest of your field trip.”

Toriel sighed.  “I wish I could.  Certain students of mine are rather… unruly.  One group of boys who find it amusing to yell at strangers as they pass.”

Not wanting to get wrapped up in a full-length conversation in her current state of undress, Frisk faked a sneeze, and feigned an urgent need to find a bathroom.  Toriel wished her the best and hung up.  A series of loud guitar chords seemed to come out of nowhere, startling her a little, almost driving her to cover herself up for fear of someone arriving unannounced.  Then she remembered the radio was still on.  So she turned it off, opened a window rather wide, picked up her discarded clothes, emptied the pockets, and adjourned to the shower.

A hot shower, as always.  Time alone, with the soothing feeling of near-scalding water running down her body.  This was her favorite time to think.  And think she did.

The call from Toriel brought her down from the day long high she experienced out on the town with Asriel.  A solid twenty-four hours of pretending they were, for lack of a better way of putting it, a perfectly normal couple.   _A couple… huh.  Weird to think of us that way._  Oddly, she realized she’d thought of them that way on some level for weeks at that point.  It just seemed like the right label for their relationship.  But… they couldn’t be a couple.  It just couldn’t work.

Problem the first, he was her surrogate brother.  Sure, the relationship between herself and Toriel was not a perfect mother-daughter relationship.  Regardless of their attempts to forget, reminders that Frisk was not a monster were common, and kept that bond from developing fully.  But still… it was hard to get over the fact that Asriel was like her brother.  They were growing up together, in the same house.  Going to the same school, seeing each other all the time, under the supervision of the same parents.  It was just a little weird.  It made her slightly uncomfortable.

But that issue was dwarfed by another: their jobs.  She was supposed to be an ambassador for monsters and humans; a neutral party assuring both sides treat each other well and are treated fairly by governmental and business entities.  If it were to get out that she was in a relationship with a monster- _the prince,_ of all people- it would invalidate her position.  Regardless of the sincerity of her actions and movements, the public would be quick to point fingers at the possibility of conflicts of interest- and rightfully so.

Even apart from that, it was a political minefield.  She’d never known of a monster-human couple, and didn’t know how one would be received, even by her own family.  Would they be publically shamed?  Cast away by society for breaking a taboo?  Or would they be accepted?  Most likely, it would be a battle: many would support it, many would hate it, simply fueling the flames of political war that were already blazing.

Asriel was the best person she knew.  Incredibly kind, selfless, supportive, humble… handsome.  And as much as she told herself otherwise previously, he clearly felt very strongly for her.  She didn’t want to break his heart, but… this was bigger than both of them.  Her job was too important for too many people.  She couldn’t risk it for her own satisfaction.

She shut the shower off, watching as the last drops of water fell from the showerhead and down the drain.  She didn’t want to do it, but she had to.  For the greater good.  Even if it was a greater good that sometimes seemed as though it didn’t deserve too much consideration.  Slowly, she toweled off, and put some clothes on.  She picked something a little professional and formal in appearance without realizing.

Back downstairs, she found that Asriel had just woken up, and was still laying on the couch.  “Hey,” he said with a contented face and a tired, raspy voice.

She sighed.  “Hey.  Ummm… we… we need to talk about this.  About you and I.”

His face fell.  “What’s wrong?”

She looked at him for a moment, trying to keep her eyes on his face.  “You should probably get dressed first.  I’ll make coffee.”

He got up, took his own shower, and got dressed, returning to find Frisk with a steaming cup of coffee in her hand, and another waiting for him on the couchside table.  He sat down, saddened by her expression.  She was looking down into her cup with a small frown, her once bright and affectionate eyes now darkened by the thought of what she now had to say.  “Asriel,” she said, finally looking up at him.  “I’ll be blunt… I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be together.”  She paused for a moment, gauging his reaction.  He seemed to have none.   _He must have been expecting this…_

“I know.  I’m sorry.  It was stupid of me to think you’d-”

“What?  No, Asriel, it’s not you.  And it’s not because I don’t love you, because I _do._ ”  Did she?  She didn’t even know it herself until she said it aloud.  But it was true.  She did.  They both took a moment to gather themselves after that statement, then Frisk continued.  “It’s just… it’d be a mess.  We’re almost like siblings, Asriel, and I don’t really know how a monster-human relationship would work, if people would get mad, if… if we stayed together, if we could have… children or anything…”  She hadn’t given _that_ any thought either.  But it would inevitably become a concern.  “But the big thing is… I’m the ambassador.  You’re the prince.  Imagine how the world would react if we were a couple?  My job would be impossible… and I need to do my job for the sake of monsters, for the sake of _your people_.  Do you understand?”

He nodded, despondent.  “Yeah, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure?  Asriel, I don’t want to-”

“Frisk.  It’s fine.”  His voice shook and caught on every word.  With a strained smile, he stood, and calmly walked out of the room, leaving his coffee on the table untouched.  Frisk sat still for a moment, lost in her own head.  There was something about it.  The way he held his face.  The way he spoke.  The way he stood and strode off.  There was something about it that seemed to eat a hole through her heart.  She had to cheer him up somehow.  She heard a door close somewhere upstairs; he must have gone to his room.  Obviously he needed to be comforted, but she gave him a moment to himself, unsure whether it was the right move to do so.

Several minutes passed.  She distracted herself with the news.  For better or for worse, the discussion was not on monsters and humans for once, rather disagreements in Congress.  A little more palatable, she thought.  A little.

Eventually, she found herself standing at the door to his room.  There was music playing inside.  It was soft; she couldn’t tell what it was, but there certainly was no rockin’ drum or heavy bass.  Whatever he was listening to, it could not have uplifting.  She knocked, and in an instant, the music was off.  It took a moment for him to reach the door.

Asriel stood in the doorway, looking down at Frisk with the most ordinary, neutral face he could muster.  His eyes were slightly red.  Some of the fur on his face was matted.  The tip of his snout was moist.  His appearance destroyed her.

“Yeah, Frisk?  What’s up.”

“Asriel… were you crying?”  She said it on the verge of tears herself.

“No.”

“Asriel…”

“I wasn’t crying.”

She had to fix it, and did so the quickest way she knew how.  All of a sudden, Asriel had arms pulling him down into a deep kiss, surprise turning to pleasure turning to rejection.  He pushed her away lightly; he didn’t want to expose himself to that wonderful feeling anymore.  Not when he knew he wouldn’t be able to have it in the future.

“Frisk, I thought you said-”

“I know what I said.”

She pulled him in again, only to be repelled again.

“But you’re right.  It would be a problem.  As much as I want to, Frisk… we shouldn’t.”

She sighed.  “Are you sure?”

He nodded.  “Yeah… I’m sorry, Frisk.”

“I’m sorry too.”  There was a long silence, each individual looking over the other’s shoulder.  “One more for the road?” asked Frisk.

He nodded, and slowly leaned forward.  They kissed one last time, slowly, tenderly.  Then it wasn’t slow or tender.  It was passionate, wanting.  They broke it off, Asriel wanting to speak.  “How about… you and I stay together… and no one has to know.”

She nodded.  “Yeah… I like that.”  Then she led him into his room, closed the door, and jumped onto her new partner.

It was clear.  This sort of behavior would become a regular thing in that household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's short. Sorry. And I don't think this came out nearly as well as it could have. I was a little rushed.  
> The next few chapters are about Frisk trying to do her job without people knowing that she and Az are a thing. Mostly. Stay tuned.
> 
> Thanks for reading. Comments and kudos are really encouraging. You really freaking rock.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (posted 1:41 AM 7/21/17)
> 
> GUESS WHO'S BACK  
> BACK AGAIN

“FRISK!!  FRISK!!!”

With a grunt and a groan, Frisk buried her face further in her pillow.  There was nothing in the world that could draw her away from her bed at that moment.  Not Toriel’s beckons, not her alarm, not a nuclear explosion.  Four hours was not enough sleep.  Could she manage to make it through the day?  Of course.  That didn’t mean she wanted to.

“FRISK, IT IS NEARLY TIME TO LEAVE!  YOU MUST GET UP!”

Then there were thumps up the stairs.  Scowling and swearing, Frisk prepared for the violent awakening.  Toriel did not barge in, no, she knocked first.  For about half a second.  Then she was standing at Frisk’s bed, repeating the messages that had echoed through the house all morning: “Frisk, you have to wake up!”, “Frisk, we’re leaving at 7:00, you have to get ready now!”, “Frisk, Asgore’s expecting us, we don’t want to be late!”  Problem was, though, Frisk very much wanted to be late.  She wanted more than anything else to be, oh, five or six hours late, sleeping in the interim.  But Toriel would not allow it.

“Ugh, Frisk, I am losing patience.  ASRIEL!”

A moment later, a just as sleep-deprived Asriel was leaning in the doorframe to Frisk’s room.  He kept to the side, allowing Toriel to leave in a bit of a huff, slamming the door behind her.  She didn’t need to tell Asriel what he was supposed to do.  He could figure it out on his own.

He crouched right next to Frisk’s bed, his snout inches away from the pillow that now obscured Frisk’s entire head.

“Hey, Frisk, wanna wake up now?” he croaked.

She groaned.

“Come on, we have to go to Dad’s… announcement thing.”

She groaned again.

“Maybe it’ll be fun.  I hear he has a party lined up after.  I dunno what he’s announcing or why it deserves a party, but we were invited so we need to go.”

More groaning.

“Okay, are we doing this the easy way, or the hard way?”

“Hard way.”

With a sigh, Asriel slid his arms under Frisk’s sheets, grabbing her under her arms and sliding her out from under the blankets, letting her body sag onto the floor.  “You awake yet?”

“No…”

Asriel rolled his eyes, this time putting one arm behind her back, one behind her legs, and lifting her off the ground.  He carried her to the door to her room, and set her down to a standing position.  Immediately, she dropped to the floor, curled into a fetal position, and shut her eyes.  A sadistic sort of grin crept its way onto Asriel’s face.

“Hey mom!” he called out.

“Yes?”

“Is Undyne here yet?”

“Uhh… I think I see her car outside; she is just arriving.”

“Okay, good.  Frisk is still asleep, maybe was can get  _ Undyne  _ to wake her up.”

Immediately and with a quiet snort, Frisk jumped to her feet.

“Awake now?” said Asriel.

“No, but I don’t want to be punched, screamed at, or blown up, so I’m gonna take a shower now.”  Immediately, she began to take her shirt off, but Asriel stopped her, beginning to speak in a sort of aggressive whisper.

“No, Frisk, you can’t take your clothes off in front of me.  We have guests over, they don’t know that… well… you know… that it’s nothing new.”

She made a face somewhere between scowl and confusion, before gesturing to the door.  “The door is closed, who the hell would see us?”

Asriel fidgeted in discomfort.  “Still.  Please?”

Frisk sighed, grabbing a towel, opening the door, and making her way to the bathroom.  Asriel simply watched as she disappeared around the corner.  Frisk was a lot of things.  Kind, chipper, usually very optimistic.  But for the past couple of years, she’d been anything  _ but _ a morning person.

Having already dressed, he had no issue going downstairs to greet everyone.  Apparently, Undyne and Alphys were just walking through the door.  Sans and Papyrus had arrived first, followed closely by Mettaton, who somehow found the time in his ‘international species-defying bigger-than-life-itself superstar’ schedule for this one event.  One by one, Asriel said his hellos, answering the “Where’s Frisk?” question more times than should be necessary.  They broke into their usual groups; Sans joking with Toriel; Papyrus, Mettaton, and Undyne talking about random events in each of their lives; and Alphys floating between the two groups, spending a considerable amount of time speaking to neither.  Asriel found himself in the same situation.  Naturally, it wasn’t long before Asriel and Alphys found themselves talking to each other.

“Uhm… hi, Asriel.”

“Hey, Alphys.  Everything going well at home?”

“Uh, yeah.”  There was a short silence before she continued.  “You know, Asgore told me what this is all about.”

“You know what the big announcement is?”

“Yeah.  You should be excited, it involves you.”

Asriel raised an eyebrow.  “Really?  How?”

“I- I, uh, d-don’t think I should… oh god, I’ve already said too much…”

“Did he say not to tell me?”

“N- no, but I think he wants you to find out… along with… with, uh, everyone, uh, everyone else.  When he announces it officially later today.”

“Announces what?”

“I can’t tell you!  I’m sorry, I’m sorry!  I just wanted to get you excited, and, and, now you’re asking questions, and-”

“Calm down, Alphys, it’s okay.  I’ll pretend I never heard anything if you want.”

Alphys took a deep breath.  “Okay.  Thank you.”

“No problem.  Hey, want some coffee?”

“Sure.”

“How do you take it?”

“Black.”

Asriel nodded, and left for the currently empty kitchen.  He didn’t get to the coffee maker, though, before a bony arm reached around his shoulder.

“hey, there’s my man.  ready, bud?”

“Oh, hey, Sans… but, uh, ready for what, exactly?”

“today.”

“You know what Asgore’s going to announce?”

“yeah.  do you know?”

“No, but I know it has something to do with me.  Alphys would give me that much.  Feeling like filling me in on the rest?”

“nah, wanna keep it a surprise for everyone who doesn’t know yet.”

“Fine, okay, I’ll just wait like everyone else.  How’d you find out?  Did Dad just decide to tell you too?”

“no, alph told me.”

“Come on, really?  Who else knows?”

“uhh, i’m pretty sure alph told undyne, and undyne told mettaton, and i told tori, so… everyone but papyrus, i think.”

Then came a couple of voices from the other room.   _ “WHAT WAS THAT UNDYNE?  DID YOU SAY THAT ASGORE IS GOING TO-” _

_ “Shut up, Papyrus!  Not so loud!” _

“scratch that, undyne told papyrus.”

“Oh, come on… does Frisk know?”

“lets ask.”  Sans looked past Asriel’s shoulder.  “hey, do you know?”

Asriel whipped around to see Frisk standing right behind him.  “What?  How long have yo been standing there?” he said.

“About ten seconds, and no, Sans, I don’t know.”

“guess she doesn’t know.  bummer.  think she’d be the only one willing to tell you.  that’s probably why she doesn’t know yet.”

“Okay,” Asriel said, “Why is everyone allowed to know but me.”

“dunno.  guess we’re gonna have to wait a little while to see, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shortest chapter ever posted? Yeah, a bit.  
> But really I just wanted to post SOMETHING as soon as I could, to put this fic back on the map after being dormant for three months. So I hashed this out in like an hour. I wanted to name it "Chapter 26.9" but AO3 would number it as 27 anyway and that would just induce migraines so... 27 it is. Anyway, a little announcement of my own: I'm fucking back. I don't mean monthly updates are back, I mean WEEKLY updates are back. Probably. I hope. Come to think of it, probably not, but I am writing again, and that means you get stuff! Sorry for the hiatus, but... I needed it.  
> Anyway, uh, life, I got a new phone today, I'm going to college in a couple of weeks, I turned 18 a couple of months ago, I saw the Gorillaz concert in Boston, and I reached Bronze League in SpeedRunners.
> 
> Again, this is just a teaser of what's to come in the next couple of weeks.
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always very encouraging. 'Specially if I see a few names I recognize. Anyone still around after no updates for three months? Let's find out...
> 
> You. Freaking. Rock.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (uploaded 3:31 AM 8/1/2017)  
> Me: Weekly updates are back  
> Also me: *doesn't update for 11 days  
> Also me: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> In other news, WELCOME TO SUBPLOT CITY

hey reader, ya might wanna reread my monologue in chapter 15 before tackling this one, kay buddy?  thanks. -sans

\--

It had been a long time since he’d donned such formal wear.  He almost missed the flowing purple robes and golden shoulderplates, even if it did catch on his fur and scratch against his skin.  But after years of wearing human suits (specially tailored to his generous size), wearing the traditional garment of generations of kings felt almost like arriving at home after a long day at work.

He didn’t have to dress up for this.  He didn’t expect anyone else to.  He just… felt it was appropriate.

Looking around, everything was set.  He had never had guests at his house before, not since he moved in by himself only a few months back.  It was amazing how quickly it became a mess, but… luckily, Papyrus was more than happy to come in and clean the day prior.  He left it looking surprisingly tidy, more so than Asgore thought possible.

A bit of a chill crawled up his spine.  It was cold, wasn’t it?  A strangely cold morning for mid-summer.  A thick blanket of mist rendered his budding garden outside almost invisible.  Of course, that wasn’t a bad thing.  Growing plants use up all the water they can get.

Then, through the fog, a pair of headlights appeared.  Dim at first, getting more and more intense until finally parked outside the house.  Toriel’s SUV, for sure.  It was the only vehicle owned by anyone in attendance capable of carrying eight people.  Soon, the lights were off, and there were knocks at the door.

“Hello, Toriel!”

“Hi, Gorey!”

The first to enter, Toriel gave Asgore a hug and a rub on the back, one that lasted a little longer than most friendly hugs.  It wasn’t the first time.  The last time they’d seen each other, they’d done the same.  Immediately behind Toriel were Undyne and Alphys, whispering and giggling to each other.  Upon noticing this, Asgore let go of Toriel and eyed the two suspiciously.  “What exactly are you two laughing at?”

Alphys blushed.  “Nothing, sorry.”   


Undyne adopted the teasing tone of a teenage girl, taunting a friend about a crush.  “Oh, it’s just that you two are hugging now.”

“Yes we are…”

“And you went out the other night.”

“Perhaps we did…”

“And are going out again later this week?”  She had a big smile on her face, rocking back and forth on her feet.

At this point, Toriel piped up.  “Yes, perhaps Asgore and I are spending more time together, as friends.”

“Uhuh,  _ suuure,  _ as  _ frieeendddssss. _ ”

“Please, Undyne.”  At this point, Toriel was blushing herself.  “It has taken me years, but I have begun to see past his mistakes.  We may not be a married couple again, but can we not spend a few nights together as acquaintances?”

“I’m just saying, you look a little more friendly than ‘acquaintances’ to me.”

Then Asgore spoke, his tone stern and commanding.  “Please sit down.”

Undyne’s smile did not falter as she and Alphys found places to sit on the couch.  Next, hugs for Frisk and Asriel, a handshake for Sans, and attempted handshake for Papyrus that turned into Papyrus forcing Asgore into a hug, and a hurried step back as Mettaton slid in on his knees with a rose in his mouth and a trail of glitter behind him.

Everyone took their places.  Couches and chairs all filled, Mettaton and Papyrus had to stand leaning against the wall.  Everyone simply talked for a little while.  Rambling conversations, catching up between Asgore and those who hadn’t seen him in a while.  Sans found a corner of the room to fall half-asleep in, laying mostly on the floor with his head propped up against a wall.  He watched Mettaton and Papyrus on the other side of the room.  The two of them had always gotten along well, but today, for some reason, they seemed to get along especially well.  Something about the way Mettaton was looking at Papyrus…  Papyrus didn’t have the same look on his face; it was the same vacant but happy gaze stare he always had.  But Mettaton’s face… he knew that face.  It went well with what he assumed was light flirting.

Almost an hour passed before Asgore decided to stand in front of everyone, hushing the crowd, and transitioning from his casual persona to that of the king.  Asriel watched with eager eyes.  This, whatever it was, had something to do with him.  Everyone else seemed to flick their gaze between Asriel and Asgore, watching for the younger’s reaction.

“Everyone, I have gathered you here today to make an announcement.  An announcement that was supposed to be a surprise of sorts, but one I hear has quickly spread throughout the group.  I can only hope that you, my son, have not been told.  Have you?”

“Err, no…?”

“Good.  You will all, then, be happy to hear that, effective one week from today, I will be resigning from my post as king, and passing it down to you… King Asriel Dreemurr.”

Asgore smiled proudly at his son, who only looked back with wide, stunned eyes.  Noises of applause and congratulations fell on deaf ears as Asriel’s mind found itself blank.  Frisk had but her arm around him and was grinning as she congratulated him, but he was unable to respond.  Once the room had quieted down, Asriel opened his mouth, still not having fully processed the past thirty seconds, but Asgore spoke before Asriel could find a single word.

“I have thought long and hard about this.  About whether it’s time.  Asriel, I’ve seen you grow from the bright spark of a child you were to the proud, intelligent adult you are now.  Even if you’re  _ not quite  _ an adult yet.”  There were a couple of chuckles.  “I was heartbroken for the longest time, thinking I’d never be able to pass the crown down to you.  When you came back, I experienced the greatest sense of joy and relief a father ever could.  And here we are now, at long last, able to continue the tradition, passing rule of monsterkind from one generation… to the next.”

More applause.  Asriel looked up at his father and said “...really?”

The room laughed.  “Yes, really.  Asriel!  You’re going to be king!”   


Not knowing what else to do, Asriel smiled, stood and hugged his father.  More applause, mixed with “Aww”s.

“Now,” Asgore continued, “I know it’s early, and it’s just a little, uh,  _ wet _ outside, but you may or may not have noticed, I have prepared some festivities out in the garden.  Cake, ice cream, games, the works.  It’s your day, Asriel, you lead the way!”

\--

The sun was high, the morning’s mist long gone.  The smell of char and smoke lingered in the air, as Toriel and Undyne fought over operation of the grill,  Asgore watching worriedly.  It was a nice day.  The earlier cool had become a pleasant warm.  Mettaton and Papyrus were sitting at a picnic table,  _ still  _ talking.  Sans had begun chatting with Alphys by the bowl of chips.  At long last, the day presented the first opportunity for Frisk to speak with Asriel privately.  She found him lying on the ground, looking blankly into the distance.  She lay beside him, lightly grabbing his chin and turning him toward her.

“Hey,” she said, “What’s up?”

“Nothing, really…”

“There’s cake.  Want me to get you cake?”

“I’m fine.  Thanks, though.”

He resumed looking at nothing.  Frisk sighed.  “Okay, Az… what’s bothering you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been sulking alone almost this entire time.  Come on!  This party’s for you!  You should be excited!”

“Yeah, I guess…”

They sat in silence for a while, watching everyone else have fun.  Somewhere nearby, a bird was singing, a sonorous if repetitive chirp .  The light breeze made Frisk’s hair fly into her face at a couple of points, but she didn’t much care.  She distracted herself for a moment, drawing little circles in the dirt with her fingernail before plucking a few blades of grass and beginning to tie them together.

“You know, Az,” she said, “When I was younger, back when monsters first came to the surface… I didn’t really realize how life would turn out up here.  I mean, obviously it has its ups and downs, but… frankly, it could have turned out a lot worse, you know?  There hasn’t been another real war… well, not  _ yet _ at least… and a lot of humans and monsters get along really well!  I like to think… as an ambassador, I had something to do with that.  Even if I just talk to politicians and reporters and talk show hosts all day…”

She glanced away from her weave of grass to observe Asriel’s face.  He was still staring into the distance… but she could tell he was listening.

“I still remember the day Asgore first asked me to be the ambassador.  We were- what, twelve?  Something like that.  I was so happy about it.  I thought it would be fun, at the time.  Introducing you guys to a bunch of humans so we could all be friends and live happily together.  But… it didn’t take very long for me to realize what I’d really gotten myself into.  It was actually our very first night on the surface when I started really thinking about it.  I realized, I didn’t know what was gonna happen next.  I didn’t know how most humans would feel, I didn’t even know how other monsters would feel.  And all of a sudden, I was in charge of making sure two entire civilizations could communicate and coexist?  It was a tall order for a kid.  Heh, it still is.  That very first night, I regretted saying yes to being the ambassador.  I was scared.  I didn’t really want that responsibility.  I didn’t really want the… the  _ uncertainty  _ of it all.  But… I didn’t back down, right?  I soldiered through, and when time came to take action, I took action.  I dealt with those first few problems and I celebrated the little victories.  And, you know what?  I’m glad I did.  I’m glad I didn’t back out.  I’m glad I can call myself the ambassador and I’m glad I can say that I’ve forged a world where at least  _ some  _ monsters and humans can just get along…”

Asriel shifted his position just a little, keeping his gaze on nothing.  Frisk sighed.

“Az, I know you don’t really want to be king.  Whether it’s because you’re afraid of the responsibility, or afraid of putting yourself out there, or don’t think you’ll do a good job, or… or whatever… I just want you to know that you’ll be okay.  You’re a prince.  You’ve been, uh,  _ destined  _ to be king since you were born.  You knew this day was coming.  So… just do your best, be responsible, and… well, celebrate the little victories.  It’s not the end of the world.  You can be king and still be  _ you _ .  And if you ever need help, you have your friends, your mom and dad…”

She glanced around to make sure no one would notice, then leaned over to place a short kiss on Asriel’s forehead, sliding the grass bracelet she’d made onto his wrist in the process.

“...and you have me.  So lighten up.  It’s not as bad as you think.  At least have some cake before Sans eats it all.”

She stood up, looking down at him with a soft smile and glowing eyes.  “I’m gonna go grab some myself.  Come and join when you’re ready, kay?”

And she walked away.  Asriel wanted some with his thoughts, but unfortunately he wouldn’t get it, as hardly a minute after Frisk left, Asgore plopped himself down where Frisk had just been, placing a massive hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Hello, Asriel.  How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

“Nervous?”

“Oh, not at all!”  He said it with a false smile.  Asgore didn’t seem to be able to tell.

“Really?  I was nervous when I first took the throne.  Your grandmother was one of the greatest rulers monsterkind ever had.  And I?  One of the worst.”

“Come on, dad, don’t say that, you’ve done just fine.”

“Oh, you don’t have to say that.  To be honest, one of the reasons I’m giving you the throne now is because I think you’re more equipped to handle it than I am, even as young as you are.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Well I am.  Besides… I’ve been king a  _ long  _ time.  Not aging for hundreds of years… it really messes with you.  Finally I’m getting older again.  I found my first white beard hair… anyway… I just want you to be a better king than I was.  I set the bar pretty low for you.”  When he said this, he said it with a good-humored chuckle.  Then there was a short silence.

“Hey dad?”

“Yes, son?”

“Hate to change the subject like this, but… are you and mom getting back together?”  There was a glimmer of hope in Asriel’s eyes.  Asgore held his son a little closer before saying, “With a little luck… and a little  _ wine _ … maybe.  Err- don’t tell her I said that.”

“I won’t.  Promise.”

“Speaking of… Asriel, do you have a girlfriend I don’t know about?”

Asriel’s eyes went wide.  “What?  No, of course not.”

“Aww… that’s too bad.”  Asgore sounded genuinely disappointed.

“Why?”

“I don’t think even once in the history of monsters has a king been crowned without a mate.  I just thought… you could surprise a lucky lady with a throne of her own.”

“Oh…”

“Are you sure there’s no one in your life you’d like to rule alongside you?  No one you’ve fallen for, and just haven’t talked to about it?”

“Uh, n- no.”

“Alright.  Asriel, I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely comfortable with… altering the tradition.  I first asked your mother out when I was first told I’d be taking the throne from my mother, you know.  Then again, I’d loved her since I was a teenager… I was entirely certain I’d want to spend the rest of my life with her.  But… if you’re just not ready for it… that’s fine.”

“...dad?”

“Yes?”

“This’ll sound weird… but what if… hypothetically, I mean, for political reasons… my queen were… a human?”

“A human?”  He seemed somewhat taken aback.

“Ye- yeah…”

“Mmm… I understand why you’d consider it.  It would do wonders bringing the communities together.  But… I do not think I can allow it.”

“What?  Why not?”

“You are to be the king of monsters, Asriel.  This position is sacred; it has been passed down from ruler to ruler, parent to eldest for generations and generations.  Even when monsters and humans coexisted years ago, there was never a mixed monarchy.  I feel we must allow the rulers of monsterkind to be… well, monsters.”

“Oh…”

“Please understand that if you were anyone else, I’d be fine with you taking a human mate.  But you are to be king, and that must be respected.  Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

There was a long silence before Asgore next spoke.  “If you really do not have a mate at the moment, and there is no one you are interested in, would you like me to put out some feelers and find you some potential queens?”

“Uh, no thanks.”

“Asriel, you don’t need to be modest… or embarrassed.  It’s perfectly okay to ask for help with this sort of thing.  The one for you is out there, and I’m sure she won’t be too hard to find.”

“Not too hard to find.  I’m sure you’re right.”

“Tell you what.  I’ll arrange for you to meet a few young individuals over the next week, and if none of them work out, you can take the throne alone.”   


“Dad, you really don’t have to-”

“Oh, no I insist.  Now if you’ll excuse me-”  He stood.  “I’m going to try to solve my own little… lady situation.”  Asriel did his best to not shake in mixed fear and frustration as Asgore went to talk to Toriel.

What now?  Should he tell Frisk what’s going on?  Would it make her mad if he told her?  Or would it make her more mad if he didn’t?  Surely there would be some was he could convince his father not to go through with this.  Or some way he personally could avoid it.  Or delay his coronation.  Okay, he’d tell Frisk, but how would she react?  Should he tell her immediately?  Should he wait for the right moment?  What if it never comes?  Surely she’d be understanding.  He can just meet with the girls and reject them all... but… what if he takes a queen just to make his father happy?  Should he?  Would Frisk be okay with it?  Would the new girl?  Would-

“Hey Az.”

Frisk was standing over him once again, her hair dripping for some reason.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Asriel.  Come on, I need your help.  Sans found a bunch of water balloons and I need a teammate.  Fair warning, Papyrus has  _ quite the arm _ .”  She began to walk away, but turned to see that he wasn’t following.  “Still bummed?  Like I said,  _ at least enjoy today _ .  This is for you, after all.”

Asriel thought for a moment.  “You know what?  I will.”  Problems could wait.  A water balloon fight could not.

\--

They had their fight, they had their fun.  They had the grilled lunch.  It was burned.  Toriel burned the burgers being far too cautious of foodborne illness, and Undyne burned the hot dogs because that’s all she knows how to do.  At least the rolls weren’t burned, even if they were a bit stale.

Soon, everyone was relaxing.  They’d ended up in pairs, at each corner of the garden, absorbed in their own conversations.  In their own little worlds.  But in every odd numbered group, there’s someone inevitably left without a partner…

There was something Sans hadn’t felt in a long time.  He couldn’t, not in his position.  Couldn’t afford to.  Yet… the feeling crept up on him.  At first he was happy, sitting in the center of the garden, looking to its corners to find his friends, speaking so amiably to each other.  Papyrus and Mettaton… he’d never really thought about it before, but he could at least be happy that Papyrus was happy, even if he didn’t realize he was being hit on.  And Toriel was talking to Asgore, and smiling, surely reminiscing about the good ol’ days.  He’d been paying attention to them for weeks at that point.  They’d be back together.  Soon.  He was sure of it.  Then of course, there were the established pairs.  Undyne was comforting Alphys, who had one too many pieces of cake.  Alphys had her head in the crook of Undyne’s neck, as Undyne moved an uncharacteristically gentle hand up and down her partner’s back.  Farthest from where he was sitting, he noticed Frisk laughing, almost rolling over in the grass, with a massive smile on her face.  Asriel lay next to her, eyeing her affectionately.  The same sort of expression Asgore wore as he spoke to Toriel.  The same that was on Mettaton’s face, the same that was on Undyne’s.

That face.  He’d seen that face many times.  But it had been countless years since he’d seen it in the mirror.  Seeing his own smile beside his daughter’s.  Seeing it mirrored in his wife.  Before they were taken from him.

For the first time, he wanted that face back.  He didn’t want to just proceed and forget about the past.  He didn’t want to keep playing the role of elusive loner.  For the first time in years, maybe even in his life, he felt…

_ lonely. _

Of course, he had his friends.  And his brother.  But… oddly, he couldn’t stop that feeling from rising to the front of his mind.  And it began to burn him.

\--

Back at home, Toriel’s eyes were glued to the TV.  She was watching the news, as was often the case.  But something caught her attention.  Something bad, surely.  Seeing this, Frisk and Asriel made a concerted effort  _ not _ to watch the news, or even turn on a screen that might shove the news in their faces.  Instead, they went up to Frisk’s room to celebrate Asriel’s upcoming status.

But they were too tired to do anything.  Spending the day alternately running around and eating junk food, neither could muster the energy even to turn on the radio.  So instead, Asriel collapsed on the floor, resting his head against the foot of Frisk’s bed.  Frisk followed suit, allowing her head to fall into Asriel’s neck.  She reached up with one arm and began to stroke one of his ears.  This went on for several minutes, until…

“Hey Frisk?”

“Hmm?”

“...never mind.”

“No, Asriel, what is it?”

“It can wait.  Kinda… sorta serious stuff.  I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“Oh.  Okay.”

Almost immediately after, Frisk’s entire body slumped across his, and he could feel the rhythmic breathing of sleep.  It was all he could do not to succumb to temptation as his own eyelids grew heavier and heavier…

He could take it no longer.  He at last fell into the land of dreams, exhausted by the events of the day.

\--

Sans stood outside a storage container on the outskirts of town.  One of those places where you could effectively rent an oversized closet to stash your unused junk in.  The dim bulbs of nearby street lamps were not enough to properly illuminate the keypad on the door.  It took him a second to get his passcode right.  Eventually, a heavenly electronic beep broke the silence of the night, and the door automatically slid open.  Slowly, it came into view.  The one thing he didn’t destroy.  Covered by a tarp, and a thick layer of dust and spider webs, it was an unwelcoming sight.  But maybe…  _ just maybe… maybe he could get it to work this time. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s cheesy, but… holy shit.  10k hits (almost).  I know the fic’s been up for a year plus some, but… still.  Maybe I shouldn’t be so excited, but I wanna do something special to commemorate this.  I’ve had a few ideas, take your pick  
> -Generic unoriginal Q&A  
> -I arrange and release a medley of Undertale music  
> -I record myself (attempting) a nohit Sans run  
> -I write a request, or something else special you guys want  
> -Something related to TF2 (unusual giveaway, weapon naming/signing, etc), if anyone's as into that game as I am…  
> -I could release the MASSIVE amounts of half-finished story ideas, including the original version of Alone No More that's never been seen, that I got (seriously) 24k words into then decided to rewrite entirely.  I took some ideas from it, probably won't take any more.  
> -Some combination of the above?  
> -Open to your ideas!  
> -If you wanna just ask me questions I'll answer pretty much right away but if it's an actual thing I'll wait until we actually hit 10k. :)
> 
> Love you guys so much. Comments and kudos are really encouraging. Thanks for reading, YOU. FREAKING. ROCK.
> 
> It it 4:00 yet? No... still, I should go to bed. I do have to go to work tomorrow... I guess, technically later today... meh.
> 
> Edit, 9/28/17: Holy shit, we're there. 10k. Uh, I guess I'll release the original version of the story...? Alongside next chapter. When will that be? Eh... sorry to say, I don't know. I wasn't in college with this chapter was posted. Now I am. And now I spend all my time in class, doing homework, or, admittedly, playing osu!. And I've been getting really into Dragon Maid. Anyway... thank you guys so much. It's weird to think that stranger on the internet have looked at my story upwards of ten thousand times. Until next time~  
> Edit, 1/1/18: I'M NOT DEAD AND I'M WRITING AGAIN IT'S BEEN FOUR MONTHS I'M SO SORRY BUT YOU'LL GET AT LEAST A CHAPTER OR TWO IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS I PROMISE FUCK
> 
> You rock.


	29. (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)ﾉ⌒♡*:･。.

april fools joke

 

also btw im not dead even though it's been 8 months.

more is coming.

eventually.

when im not behind in my work anymore... which i have been pretty much all year.

lel

 

so ive been playing osu recently

im still a total noob tho.  like, seriously terrible.  like six digit terrible.

pretty much addicted

but i've been in a rut

playing since september, can't fc anything anymore.  i got to a point at which i could regularly fc low to mid 4* maps and i just haven't gotten any better.  in fact, i struggle to do well at all when replaying maps i fc'd first try.  can't even clear 6* maps.  okay, technically the hardest map i beat is 6* exactly (get jinxed no mod) but whatever.  it didn't give me the achievement :(

dude

more one night aggressive bootleg remix.  good mapset.

if you play too and you wanna see my top plays or some shit here you go

https://osu.ppy.sh/users/10913239

 

uh

so how's everyone doing?

i'm okay i guess.  grades are... passing.  don't really talk to most of my friends anymore.  spent too much money for my brothers' birthday last week.  got some new furniture.

finished writing the soundtrack to a game that may or may not actually release... so that's good.

on that note if anyone's looking for a shitty composer to do some shitty work then hit me up ecks dee

 

well that's all i guess

full rewrite of this story coming soon.  been working on it intermittently.  

if all goes well it should be up by the end of april.

thanks for reading i guess.


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